Former England captain Alastair Cook hasn’t ruled out the possibility of taking over from Brendon McCullum as England’s head coach. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) appointed McCullum as Test coach in May 2022. He was named white-ball coach in September 2024.
Compared to his predecessor, Chris Silverwood, McCullum has an excellent record in Test cricket. However, he hasn’t won a series against India or Australia, home or away. His white-ball record has been abysmal. In 2025, under him, England won just 4 of 15 ODIs and 8 of 15 T20Is.
After England lost the 2025-26 Ashes in just 11 days, there have been talks of McCullum potentially leaving. Although he’s contracted until the 2027 ODI World Cup, ECB officials are in Sydney and will hold a discussion with him and Ben Stokes.
Alastair Cook as England head coach?
Amid all of this, former England captain Michael Atherton had suggested in his column for The Times that Cook could be the ideal replacement for McCullum. The ECB isn’t expected to move on the Kiwi coach, with the T20 World Cup 2026 around the corner. But wants to add support staff who oppose McCullum and Stokes’ rigid mindset.
In that aspect, Cook might just be the perfect man for the job. Known for toughing it out in the middle, the former opener could teach a thing or two to Bazballers, who think attack is the best form of defence. Cook is interested in the role but has clarified that the ECB hasn’t reached out to him.
“The only thing I will say about it is the article needed to be 800 words, and Mike Atherton had done 600 and used the final 200 and threw something in. Look, at some stage in my life, would I like to be involved in the England cricket team? I think I would like to try and make a difference. I don’t know whether that is the next bit or whatever. At the moment, there are people in jobs and all that kind of stuff. And there has been zero contact. Zero in it. Let’s just see,” Cook told TNT Sports.
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