Brendon McCullum insists he will pick his best England Test side at every opportunity with no interest in rest and rotation, while he suggested James Anderson and Stuart Broad can still work in tandem.
Anderson and Broad were surprise omissions for the tour of the West Indies in March, which ended in a 1-0 series defeat for Joe Root before he stepped down as England Test captain.
Ben Stokes was appointed as the successor to Root, who oversaw just one win in his last 17 Tests, while McCullum was named as red-ball coach, beating Gary Kirsten to the position.
McCullum's first task sees him face his home country New Zealand, starting at Lord's next Thursday, and he hinted Anderson and Broad – who have 1,117 Test wickets between them – could feature together.
"Why not? They can work together," he said to BBC Sport of the veteran bowling pair. "They have had successful careers together.
"There might have been times when the combination might not have been as good as everyone hoped, but there are circumstances around that – there might not have been enough runs, or they were bowling in benign conditions. I'm certainly not against picking them together.
"I'll probably get in trouble, but I like to pick the best team every time.
"My job will be to plan as if you'll live forever, but live as if you'll die tomorrow."
McCullum also sees similarities between himself and new captain Stokes, with the pair both known for their attacking batting displays in five-day cricket.
"He's going to be a wonderful leader," said McCullum. "He plays the game how I like it to be played and puts bums on seats.
"He might fly. He might grab the captaincy and go to a whole new level again. We'll just play what we see and feel in that moment – and I'm sure the relationship between Stokesy and I will really flourish."
There remain concerns over McCullum's experience, given he has only ever coached white-ball franchises Kolkata Knight Riders and Trinbago Knight Riders.
However, he played 101 Tests for his country and believes he will coach differently to the aggressive batting style he opted for as a player.
"I'm very different as a coach to how I was as a player," he added.
"I like to allow guys to get to where they need to, to realise their potential rather than play how I played. I'd never want anyone to do that – that comes with an immense amount of disappointment at times. It's not for everyone, that style.
"Your job as coach is to understand everyone's game, understand them as people, get to know them and understand their aspirations. You try to piece that all together for one common goal."
Small contributions from Powell, Hetmyer help Royals past RCB to setup Sunrisers eliminator
Rajasthan Royals opener Yashasvi Jaiswal set the tone before Rovman Powell and Shimron Hetmyer chipped in and sent Royal Challengers Bengaluru crashing out of the Indian Premier League playoffs on Wednesday.
The Royals will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second qualifier on Friday, to challenge for a place in the final against Kolkata Knight Riders, after their four-wicket victory in Ahmedabad.
Virat Kohli made 33 to go with Rajat Patidar's 34, and a 17-ball 32 from Mahipal Lomror as RCB's batters failed to capitalise on their strong starts, finishing on 172-8.
Avesh Khan led the impressive Royals bowling line-up with 3-44, as well as an economical 2-19 from Ravichandran Ashwin, teeing up a routine chase for the Royals, who got to 174-6 with an over to spare.
Jaiswal crafted a fine 30-ball 45 – including eight boundaries – to ease any nerves, while middle-order hitters Riyan Parag and impact sub Shimron Hetmyer chipped in with 36 and 26 respectively. Hetmyer's 26 came off 14 balls and included three fours and a six, while Parag struck two fours and two sixes in his 26-ball knock.
Mohammed Siraj dismissed both Parag and Hetmyer for his 2-33, but Rajasthan were already in full control, even after slipping to 160-6 with two overs remaining.
That platform allowed Powell, who earlier took six catches in the field, to come in and blast 16 off just eight balls, slamming Lockie Ferguson (1-37) for two fours and a maximum, which ended in-form RCB's playoff hopes at the first post-season hurdle.
The Royals had lost four matches consecutively before this meeting against RCB, who had won six straight, but now only Pat Cummins' Sunrisers stand in the way of Rajasthan and the IPL final.
Data Debrief: Chahal makes RR history
Yuzvendra Chahal bowled an expensive four overs, conceding 43 runs in the first innings, though it was his one wicket of Kohli that will live long in the memory.
The Royals leg-spinner moved onto 66 IPL dismissals with the wicket of the Indian great, the most in Rajasthan history after surpassing Siddharth Trivedi's 65.
Headingley washout stops England and Pakistan's T20 World Cup preparation
England and Pakistan were denied valuable T20 World Cup preparation after the first game of their limited-overs series was abandoned due to rain at Headingley on Wednesday.
The umpires took little time to call off the first of a four-match T20I series as the decision was made without a ball being bowled at the ground in Leeds.
England will have to wait to assess the fitness of the returning Jofra Archer, with Pakistan also having no chance to evaluate their players as the only side to still not announce their World Cup squad yet.
Edgbaston will play host to the next meeting on Saturday, with clashes at Cardiff and The Oval to follow before the pair head off to the United States for the T20I tournament in June.
'We are no walkovers', declares USA star Harmeet after shock Bangladesh win
United States all-rounder Harmeet Singh declared the team will not be "walkovers" at the T20 World Cup, having scored a huge upset over Bangladesh on Tuesday.
The USA, who sit 19th in the T20 world rankings and will co-host next month's World Cup alongside West Indies, chased down a target of 154 for a five-wicket win in the first of four warm-up matches in Dallas.
Harmeet was named man of the match after teaming up with Corey Anderson to get USA over the line with three balls to play, smashing 33 runs off 13 deliveries.
Speaking after the win, Harmeet said the USA had sent out a message ahead of their home campaign, which begins against Canada on June 2.
"You don't always get an opportunity to win a game against a big side like this every day," Harmeet said.
"The way the boys have been training, it is a personal effort from everybody. It means a lot to us to put on a show against Bangladesh.
"We are no walkovers. I think our potential is immense. We have a lot of match-winners in the team. It gives us the edge. We bat as well now.
"I told the guys before the game that Bangladesh are a good team on paper, but if we go down without a fight, it won't send a good message."
Harmeet also thought Bangladesh may have taken their hosts lightly, particularly when choosing the wrong end for Mustafizur Rahman to bowl from and giving the USA's batters the advantage of high winds against other bowlers.
Mustafizur conceded 32 runs within the space of two overs before changing ends.
"When I saw him bowl from the other end, with the wind, I thought we had a chance to sneak in a 20-run over from the other side," Harmeet said.
"I think either they took us lightly or I don't know, they didn't have bowlers to bowl with from the other side."
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