England have taken a big step before the beginning of the fourth Test against India in Manchester. They have appointed Gilbert Enoka as their new mental skills coach, who has previously coached New Zealand's rugby team. This move only adds to the New Zealand influence in England's squad as Enoka joins Brendon McCullum (head coach) and Tim Southee (bowling consultant) as the third Kiwi in the Three Lions' coaching set-up for the longest format.
According to a report by The Telelgraph, McCullum played a big role in Enoka's appointment. The duo have previously worked together for the New Zealand cricket team. This move comes during a period where the England team needs to pull their socks up big time as after the conclusion of the India series, their next assignment in red-ball cricket will be against arch-rivals Australia in November.
Enoka worked behind the scenes with the England team ahead of their Test against Zimbabwe back in May. As per the report, he is set to stay with Ben Stokes & Co. until the end of the week.
Enoka had a fantastic stint with New Zealand's rugby team
Meanwhile, Enoka was a key figure in New Zealand's rugby team and has been associated with them since 2000. He spent 15 years as the mental skills coach of the side and after that, he spent the remaining seven as their leadership manager. He was a part of the coaching set-up during a golden period for the All Blacks where not only did they win back-to-back World Cups in 2011 and 2015, but they also remained the top-ranked side in the world for quite some time.
Notably, before his success in rugby, Enoka had worked with the New Zealand cricket team for six years (1998-2004) and recently was also involved in a stint with English football giants Chelsea in 2023. It will be interesting to see if he would be able to use his experience in a positive way for the England cricket team.
Meanwhile, England have announced their playing XI for the fourth Test against India which is set to commence from July 23. They only made one change to the side that recorded a 22-run victory over the Men in Blue in the third Test at Lord's, bringing in veteran all-rounder Liam Dawson as a replacement for Shoaib Bashir who suatined a finger injury during the prfevious match and has now been ruled out of the remainder of the series.
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