England's bold appointment of Brendon McCullum makes me nervous: Michael Vaughan

Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan raised questions over Gary Kirsten being passed over for the job of coaching England’s Test squad in favor of Brendon McCullum, calling his selection a “huge risk” for the English team.

On Thursday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced Brendon McCullum’s appointment as England’s Test team coach. The 41-year-old, who is currently associated with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, was unanimously selected by the board and his first stint with the team will be the upcoming home series against New Zealand.

Vaughan was unhappy with McCullum’s appointment over Kirsten and felt that the team would have been in safer hands under Kirsten’s leadership. “England’s bold appointment of Brendon McCullum makes me nervous. If English cricket has overlooked someone like Gary Kirsten for a second time I do find it incredibly bizarre. I don’t see how we have made that call twice,” he wrote in his column for the Telegraph.

One thing is for sure, we are in for an interesting ride: Vaughan

Michael Vaughan heaped praises for Kirsten and his experience in the role, explaining how he would have been the right fit for the England job. He also said that at a time when England has seen a disastrous decline in their performance in Tests, giving the responsibility to someone more experienced would have worked better for the ECB.

“He is the perfect mentor, thinker, and culture driver who has done it before and has the t-shirt. What England has gone for in Brendon is exciting and a big name, but it is a big risk as well. He is taking over England at the right time. They are at their lowest ebb since the mid-1990s,” he added.

“He will not have to do much for us all to see a massive improvement but if it doesn’t happen quickly then there will be questions asked about his appointment and whether England would have been better off with a safer pair of hands, more experienced and know how to coach in Test cricket. But one thing is for sure, we are in for an interesting ride,” he further wrote.

McCullum’s T20 franchise coaching expertise and good camaraderie with skipper Eoin Morgan would have seemed to make him a perfect choice to coach the white-ball team. And while there were reports about McCullum taking over the white-ball duties, he opined his views on the role saying it did not interest him.