England coach Brendon McCullum has revealed his ambitious aspirations to help test cricket reach its former heights, and bring new fans to the traditional format.
The former Blackcaps captain has been applauded for implementing an attractive brand of cricket which has seen them take a unassailable 2-0 lead over New Zealand in their test series.
Their aggressive approach, spearheaded by captain Ben Stokes has resulted in an emphatic turnaround in fortune, after back-to-back series defeats to West Indies and Australia.
McCullum admits his goals as England coach go far beyond just results, and hopes their style of play can rush in a new era of test cricket.
"It sounds pretty lofty to say that that's what your ambitions are from the outset, but I don't see a problem with that, test cricket needs it," he told SENZ.
"The game has been around for 100 years and it's been amazing. But society is different now, society wants things more instant, it wants things more quicker.
"Test cricket maybe isn't as significant in some countries as it once was. For us it's a matter of trying to ensure that test cricket is still sexy and people want to watch it."
McCullum was revered as an attacking batter for New Zealand during his playing days, which went a long way to the Blackcaps' audacious approach through the years.
But he believes it is England that can have the biggest impact of them all, if executed and applied the right way.
"I genuinely believe England, with the history of the game, and the support base it has throughout this country and where it sits with big players in international cricket, if England is strong, then test cricket has a real chance of thriving and being successful," McCullum said.
"That's what is in front of us and to do that, you've got to play an attractive brand of test cricket and you've got to be prepared to lose sometimes to be able to try and play that style, win test matches and to win over fans that are already there, but encourage new fans to come and watch us to play test cricket.
"That comes with the responsibility. You've got to be very careful you don't try to coerce people into your way of thinking, you've got to do it with authenticity.
"Your actions speak for the words you've said from the outset and that's what is in front of us.
"There's also a ton of planning and preparation that goes into it, it's not just an out and out gung-ho approach. There will be times where we will have to absorb pressure and be smart enough and intelligent enough to identify moments and act on those moments to stay in the game before you can start to transfer pressure on opposition sides.
"You've got to be a little careful around some of your messaging there, that's it's not just a calvary type of approach. When the time comes, when the pressure is on and when the game is in the balance, we will be prepared to be positive and take those positive options. Hopefully more times than not, that'll result in success."
McCullum's relationship with Stokes has been well-documented, with the pair striking a seemingly perfect balance between coach and captain.
But he concedes the duo were almost too alike and had to make sure they were supported by the more experienced players and coaching staff.
"The danger was probably that we would be too similar but both of us have such motivation to try and improve this side that we give and we take with areas we need to and try to ensure we surround ourselves with leaders within the group," he said.
"Sometimes even you have doubts, but if you're able to have that filtering system with the captain and coach and to remain on task with what we're trying to achieve and the direction we want to go, it gives you a better chance of consistency with that message."
