Champions Trophy 2025: Five issues facing England after Jos Buttler’s resignation

This one is English cricket’s long-standing problem.

When England focus on the Test side, the white-ball team struggles. When they give priority to those in a coloured kit, the red-ball side lurches towards review-inducing crisis.

That Buttler has rarely had his best players available is the caveat that should go down alongside a tournament record that reads one title and three sorry exits.

McCullum’s first act as white-ball leader has been to bring the two sides closer together. Smith, Ben Duckett, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson are all Test players given limited-overs opportunities. The results cannot be deemed a success.

England will play only 10 Tests this year, having played 17 in 2024, and McCullum does not sound ready for change.

“Most other teams manage that, if you look at India’s players and how they play cross-formats, look at Australia’s fast bowling line-up, New Zealand are similar,” he said.

“I’m hopeful that with some shrewd planning and a better understanding of what our player pool looks like, we’ll be able to make sure we can get it across all formats, because that’s ultimately what people that follow this team deserves.”