Tim Southee insists Brendon McCullum feels no pressure after England’s Ashes defeat

Brendon McCullum’s position as England head coach might be under scrutiny, but fast bowling consultant Tim Southee was adamant his good friend is showing no signs of being under pressure.

A 4-1 Ashes defeat, with Australia retaining the urn after just 11 days of cricket, has put an extra emphasis on the T20 World Cup, although England have booked a semi-final spot with a match to spare.

Southee, who played alongside McCullum 170 times for New Zealand and joined his backroom staff at England on a rolling contract last May, insisted his former team-mate is focused on the task at hand.

“Baz is just Baz,” Southee said. “I have known him, played a lot with him and get on with him very well.

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Consistent

“But one thing with Brendon is he is the most consistent guy I have ever come across.

“Nothing really changes from him. He believes in what he believes in. He’s been very consistent with his behaviours and it’s been no different here.

“He just wants guys to do well, he wants the team to do well and that hasn’t changed since he was a player and now as a coach.”

Southee himself was under the microscope as a schedule conflict meant he was unavailable to fulfil his England brief after the first Ashes Test, leaving for a T20 playing gig in the United Arab Emirates.

Disappointing

The ILT20 usually starts in the middle of January but was moved back to the start of December last year to avoid a clash with the T20 World Cup, seemingly leaving 37-year-old Southee’s hands tied.

“It was disappointing, I’d have loved to have been part of all five (Tests),” Southee said. “Being a Kiwi kid, having the opportunity to work with the England side during an Ashes series was awesome.

“It’s just a shame that the dates were changed for fulfilling a two-year contract with the ILT20.”

England will seal top spot in their Super 8 group if they follow up wins in the last few days over Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Pallekele by beating New Zealand at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium on Friday.

Southee – who played 394 times in all formats for New Zealand, including taking 391 wickets in 107 Tests – admitted he will find being in England’s dressing room “a little bit strange”.

Class bowler

However, he has enjoyed working with Jofra Archer, who started the tournament with combined figures of two for 80 in eight overs against Nepal and the West Indies, having just returned from a side strain.

Since then, his figures read 15-0-111-8 in four games and his 90mph-plus pace has discomforted several batters, with Southee convinced Archer could be peaking at the right time.

“The good sign is that we’ve seen over the last few games he looks like he’s getting better and better so that bodes well for the next few games,” Southee added. “He’s obviously a class bowler.

“He can bowl fast, move the ball and he has an unbelievable amount of skill. Sometimes (you can have) almost too much skill and it’s just about trying to narrow down what’s effective at the time.

“It’s been brilliant to see how he goes about his stuff. He absolutely loves cricket, loves bowling, so it’s been great to work alongside such a great bowler.”

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