Cricket: Brendon McCullum expected to be named new England test coach

Black Caps great Brendon McCullum during a training session with the Kolkata Knight Riders. Photosport

Former New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum looks set to be named as the England coach across the red and possibly white ball formats.

Newstalk ZB understands the 40-year-old has agreed to take the role and confirmation should come by the end of the week.

His first series in charge will be against New Zealand in three weeks.

McCullum played the last of his 101 tests in 2016 in a team alongside Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Neil Wagner and Trent Boult who could all line up in the opening test starting at Lord's on June 2.

His noted aggressive style as Black Caps captain and now coach with the Kolkata Knight Riders would marry well with new England test captain Ben Stokes who will lead the team against the Black Caps in the three test series.

The 40-year-old has no experience coaching the longer form of the game but has success in the Twenty20 form, coaching the Trinbago Knight Riders to a title in the 2019 CPL. Under McCullum, the Kolkata Knight Riders reached the final of the Indian Premier League.

In the current IPL season, Kolkata sit in seventh place.

England have been searching for a new coach since Chris Silverwood left the role in the wake of the Ashes defeat over the summer. Paul Collingwood was the interim coach for the recent series defeat in the West Indies.

McCullum emerged as a contender for the England job this week with South Africa's Gary Kirsten and Australian Simon Katich considered as other contenders.

England media have been enamoured with McCullum since the 2015 World Cup when he lead the Black Caps to an eight-wicket thrashing of England in Wellington, at one point using four slips when Moeen Ali was facing Trent Boult, a unthinkable field placement in a 50-over match.

His aggressive style as opening batsman and captain in that tournament led New Zealand to their first-ever men's final before they were defeated by Australia at the MCG.

New Zealand toured England later that year in a highly contested drawn test series, though Stokes may be quick to remind McCullum bowled his new coach for a golden duck in that 2015 Lord's test defeat. The tests were followed by a back-and-forth ODI series which increased McCullum's status among England fans and media.

A year later he delivered the MCC Spirit of Cricket lecture at Lord's.

McCullum would be the fourth coach from outside of England to take the reigns of the test side and the first New Zealander.

England are currently ranked sixth in the world test rankings and bottom of the World Test Championship standings with one win from their last 12 tests.