Joe Root: My game has improved 'tenfold' with McCullum as coach

Joe Root has backed England's under-pressure head coach Brendon McCullum, calling the Kiwi "one of the best coaches I've ever had".

Root joins Harry Brook and Ben Stokes in throwing their support behind McCullum, whose position has been under severe pressure following England's heavy defeat in the Ashes and reports of off-field behaviour issues where the relaxed environment run by McCullum is alleged to have gone too far.

The ECB are reluctant to make wholesale changes, but with reports that managing director Rob Key is set to keep his job, further spotlight has been placed on McCullum's position.

"I think Baz is one of the best coaches I've ever worked with," Root said following England's win in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo. "Obviously we're disappointed with the way things went out in Australia, but I still think there's a lot more really exciting things to come from this group."

Root cited McCullum's impact on his own performances, stating: "If you look at my own personal game, the time that he's been the coach, it's improved tenfold."

Since McCullum took over in 2022, Root has become the leading batter in the world, scoring 16 centuries in 46 Tests and averaging north of 56 in the most successful period of his career.

"Obviously it's more fun when you win," Root said, addressing England's current dressing-room environment. "But I'm still having the best time of my life. I get to turn up and do the thing that I love every day with a great group of people, some brilliant minds and some experts that you can constantly keep improving and developing under."

Root's comments follow similar statements from Stokes and Brook. Ahead of the Sydney Test, Stokes said he could not imagine "someone else" replacing McCullum, before Brook added in Colombo that he is the best head coach he's had "by a million miles".

Despite recent events, England's head coach remains popular within the group, and it is notable that the squad has not fractured despite on- and off-field issues.

Nevertheless, following defeat in Sydney, Stokes also spoke of the team's need to adapt, and that opposition teams had worked out how to play against them in recent years with their approach too one-dimensional. It is down to the ECB to decide if they believe McCullum can change and, to an extent, down to McCullum to decide if he wants to.

Root also backed Brook to become "an incredible captain". Though Brook himself suggested on the eve of the Sri Lanka series that he had to regain the trust of his team-mates, Root hopes he will learn from his mistakes following his late-night altercation with a bouncer, on the night before he led England in an ODI against New Zealand.

"I think it's a natural feeling for anyone that's made a mistake that you feel like you've let people down," Root said. "Harry's a great fella and he's going to be an incredible captain. He clearly feels bad about what happened, but from my side of things, he's got a job to do and I think he's doing it exceptionally well.

"He's apologised, he's taken his punishment and he's desperate to take this team forward ... So I'm fully behind him and want to see him, I suppose, move past it and learn from it and grow as a person and as a captain off the back of it."

Root and Brook put together a vital partnership of 81 in a difficult run-chase of 220 against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday. Their efforts set up a win that tied the series at 1-1 with the decider to be played on Tuesday. It was England's first away ODI victory in 12 attempts, and was both Brook's and McCullum's first away win as captain and coach respectively.

"I don't think it's as simple as that," Root said in defence of his team's recent struggles in the format, in which they have won only six of their last 20 matches. "We've lost five tosses in a row on some very one-sided wickets in New Zealand and here.

"And I think we've done really well here on a wicket that clearly favours batting first to restrict them, and then to have the game smarts to knock it off was really pleasing and a sign of improvement I think ... I thought Brooky's captaincy was excellent, very shrewd and the guys performed and did what was required on that wicket."

On defeat in Australia, Root said he would take time after the end of this series to reflect on a disappointing campaign. He is not involved in the T20 World Cup, so will not be in action again until the home Test series against New Zealand in June.

"I want to step back because it clearly hurts," Root said. "You go there and at no time do you think you're going into any series expecting to lose, especially with the players that we've got.

"I could sit here and get wound up and angry about it, and probably say something that I don't necessarily mean, or I could give myself some time to properly reflect on it and then have a proper, honest conversation with a bit more reason and sense behind it ... I think that's probably the most sensible way to do it."