Alastair Cook interested in joining Englands Test coaching staff: You need a variety of different people
England legend Alastair Cook has expressed his interest in joining Brendon McCullum's coaching staff, stating that any team's coaching setup should have a variety of different people.
Former captain Alastair Cook has expressed his interest in joining England's current Test coaching staff under head coach Brendon McCullum. Cook said he has not received an offer from the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), but will consider joining McCullum's backroom staff if he is given a chance.
Cook's comments about his interest in joining England's Test coaching setup have come after former England cricketer Michael Atherton floated the idea of him becoming head coach McCullum's assistant coach. Atherton had shared the idea amid McCullum's criticism in the aftermath of England's 4-1 drubbing in the recently concluded Ashes 2025-26.
England were thoroughly outplayed by hosts Australia, who won the first three matches in a row to clinch the series. England managed to pull one back by winning the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), but Australia bounced back to win the final 5th Test convincingly to bag the five-match series 4-1.
In his column for The Times, England legend Cook wrote that he never thought of taking up coaching as a career after retiring from professional cricket, however, he admitted he has been tempted by the prospect of joining England's Test coaching staff. Cook said he will consider if an offer is made to him.
"Cook wrote in his column for The Times that he had never thought of going into coaching but is now thinking about it after Atherton’s piece for the paper. "I can’t say that I’m not excited about the possibility of potentially getting involved, but I certainly haven’t had any contact from England," Cook wrote in his column.
Cook insisted England need to pick the best coaches available and that there needs to be variety in the coaching setup. The current England Test coaching setup consists of McCullum, who is the head coach, Jeetan Patel - the spin coach and Tim Southee, who is the fast-bowling coach. Cook feels all three have similar personalities.
"Ultimately if McCullum stays it has got to be up to him who he wants in his backroom team and he has to pick who he thinks are the best coaches around. I do think, though, that in any team you need a variety of different people and there has been too much familiarity in this set-up," Cook wrote.
"I think with McCullum, the spin coach Jeetan Patel and Tim Southee, who before this series was fast-bowling coach, you’ve got three good blokes but three fairly similar personalities. A bit of variety would help England," he added.
McCullum-led coaching setup under the scanner after Ashes defeat
England's McCullum-led Test coaching setup is under the scanner after the Ben Stokes-led side's capitulation in the Ashes 2025-26 against Australia. England were no match as the hosts dominated the proceedings throughout the series to win 4-1 and retain the prestigious Urn.
Australia thrashed England by 8 wickets in the first Test in Perth to set the tone, before making it two wins in a row with a dominant 8-wicket win in the 2nd Test at The Gabba in Brisbane. Australia won the third Test at the Adelaide Oval by 82 runs to bag their third successive win to clinch the series.
England fought back to win the 4th Test by 4 wickets to make it 2-1, however, Australia returned to winning ways in the final 5th Test in Sydney to win the series 4-1. Australia managed to outplay England completely despite missing Josh Hazlewood for the entire series and skipper Pat Cummins for four of the five Test matches.