Buttler wants McCullum's era to be 'most enjoyable part of his career'

Manchester, Sep 16 (IANS) England white-ball captain Jos Buttler is excited to work with head coach Brendon McCullum and wants to make it the 'most enjoyable part of his career'.

McCullum was recently given the additional charge of England's white-ball teams after tasting success with the Test side. Under his mentorship, England changed their playing style and earned the tag 'Bazball' due to the rapid scoring rate in red-ball cricket. However, McCullum will take charge of both Test and white-ball teams starting January 2025, coinciding with England’s white-ball tour of India and the ICC Champions Trophy.

Explaining his relationship with the former New Zealand batter, Buttler said McCullum's experience will help him in leading England in limited-overs cricket.

"I have a bit of a relationship with Baz (Brendon McCullum) but I'm looking forward to spending more time with him. I'm looking forward to digging into the cricket side of things. He will help me so much as a captain," he told Sky Sports.

Buttler also emphasised shifting his goals during McCullum's period to reach new heights in the final stage of his career."We're similar in the way we see the game but just getting to spend time with him and opening my eyes to certain things or the other way around. For me, I want this to be the most enjoyable part of my career. I've played for a decent amount of time now so maybe a shift in the goalposts of what you really want to achieve and for me that's helping guys become what they can be and building towards two big events later on," he added.On Sunday, Buttler was ruled out of the ODI series against Australia after missing the three-match T20I series due to the same calf injury. In his absence, Harry Brook was named England's captain for the series. The T20I series ended in a 1-1 draw after the final match was washed out due to rain in Manchester.

Buttler's last appearance for England came in the T20 World Cup semifinal against India, which they lost in Guyana on June 27.The series against Australia will be the first time Brook, who has played 15 ODIs, will captain England in international cricket. Brook, 25, was the vice-captain during England’s Test series against Sri Lanka when Ollie Pope became the stand-in skipper in the absence of injured Ben Stokes.