Brendon McCullum Vs Justin Langer: Who Has Better Numbers As Test Coach

Langer is likely to replace McCullum as England head coach [Source: AFP]

Brendon McCullum was living on life support as England’s Test coach before the ECB snatched it from him. What started on a promising note turned sour as McCullum’s England suffered defeats against Australia and New Zealand, and that was the breaking point for the England selectors.

England suffered a 1-2 defeat against the Kiwis, and that was the last straw as the Kiwi great was sacked as the red-ball coach. ECB quickly began their search to replace McCullum, and reportedly, they have found Justin Langer, the former Australian coach, as the perfect man.

Langer is currently associated with the Lucknow Super Giants, and the England and Wales Cricket Board is interested in acquiring him. With the Aussie reportedly in line to replace the outgoing coach, we analyse how McCullum and Langer fare against each other as we compare their Test coaching statistics. Also, we take a look at whether Langer is the right candidate to replace the outgoing coach.

McCullum vs Langer: Who has better statistics as Test coach

Both McCullum and Langer have had interesting Test coaching careers, as both the greats of the game witnessed highs and lows during their tenure. Both coaches started their tenure with wins, but it ended on a difficult note, and here's how the two have performed.

(McCullum vs Langer Test stats)

• As the stats reveal, McCullum led England in 49 Tests and managed to win 27, while also losing 20 of those Tests. Interestingly, in the 49 Test matches, only two were drawn affairs, showcasing that his team always went for a win.
• He had a win percentage of 55.10, which is not bad on paper, but it is bad considering that England never defeated any big opponents (England never won a series against Australia, India).
• On the other hand, Langer took charge of Australia when the team was going through the Sandpaper Gate turmoil, and two of their best players, Steve Smith and David Warner, served suspensions.
• As coach, he led Australia in 31 Tests, and they won 15, lost 11, and had 5 matches drawn. Langer had a win percentage of 48.38.

McCullum vs Langer: Going beyond stats to determine the better coach

• While hiring a new coach, the board looks at statistics, but the McCullum vs Langer Test battle shouldn’t be settled on the basis of numbers.

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• McCullum’s England struggled against teams that were either on par with them or were superior. The famed England team under him never defeated Australia or India in a Test series, and their best result came against a struggling Pakistan team, away from home.
• McCullum as Test coach only had a Plan A: See the ball, hit it! If things went haywire, the English coach looked out of his depth.
• However, that has not been the case with Justin Langer. Surely his ideologies have not been the most popular, but Langer has brought results with a weaker squad.
• He took over as the Australian coach during their lowest period, and he took them out of a tricky situation, and by the time the next coach arrived, Aussie cricket was in safe hands. Under him, the Australian side reclaimed the number one Test rankings in May 2020; however, under him, the Aussies also lost back-to-back home Test series against India.
• Moreover, he was rigid with his ideas, and that hampered the Australian team towards the end of his tenure.

Why McCullum slightly edges Langer as the better Test coach

Beyond stats, McCullum is still slightly better than Langer, and that is predominantly because he allows his players to express themselves the way they want to. Surely, under him, the results were not the best, but England played some of their best cricket under him, and each player felt special.

That was never the case with Langer, as several Australian players had major rifts with him, and that was one of the main reasons why Cricket Australia decided to sack him.

Moreover, Langer’s coaching has also not worked in franchise cricket, as LSG continues to suffer under his tenure.

Final Conclusion

Yes, McCullum had his flaws, but he was also the one who brought excitement to England Test cricket by playing a completely different brand of cricket known to the world.

The ex-English coach still needs to work on having a Plan B, but in terms of stats and man-management skills, he was ahead of Langer, and hence, he gets the nod here as the better coach.

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