Ashley Giles, ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket, said that England could appoint an interim coach for their tour of New Zealand later this year and clarified that he’s not keen on splitting coaching responsibilities for the three formats.
With Trevor Bayliss having stepped down as England’s head coach following the home Ashes series, England are currently on the hunt for a replacement.
“In terms of process, it has started in earnest,” Giles told reporters on Friday, September 20. “There are a lot of candidates out there and, at the moment, I’m going through the process of trying to gather some interest from parties but then have some longer telephone calls with these guys or face-to-faces, until we get to a point where we can put together a shortlist. There are some strong candidates out there.
"Regardless of what the quantifiable results may show, Bayliss’ time with this England team will go down in history for the kind of characters he was able to bring out in his players."@axk92 on the Trevor Bayliss era.https://t.co/qb4FqGQkza
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) September 16, 2019
“There’s some internal, there’s some English and there’s some very good overseas. I’m looking forward to it and it’s my first appointment because it’s my first major one.”
England will play five T20Is in New Zealand, beginning on November 1, followed by a two-match Test series. Giles hinted at a stopgap arrangement, depending on how the timeline for finding a full-time replacement extends.
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“When we go to the shortlist and interviews, it depends on their circumstances, and there will be different circumstances with all these coaches, so if we have to go interim, we will,” he said. “I’m not going to talk about who that will be now. Hopefully, we won’t have to, but that bit is less important than getting the right man for the next four years.”
Giles also reiterated his stance on a split-coaching system and explained the importance of having a consistent voice.
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“I understand the chat around split coaches and it’s not only because of my experiences,” Giles said. “With two head coaches, we’ve got a group of players playing across formats. One might be a really mature, experienced coach, one younger, less [experienced]. One form’s flying, one’s not.
“Having the one voice is important, but accepting that one voice is going to need some time away. And if you’ve got three very good assistants, it’s an opportunity to develop them as leaders. It’s a consistent voice of sorts because the players will know them. That’s how I see it.”
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The former left-arm spinner also said that Eoin Morgan, the World Cup-winning captain, will continue leading the side in limited-overs cricket.
“We met probably about a month after the World Cup final and he wanted some time to consider his future, which is just the way Morgs operates,” Giles said.
“He’s very sensible, very logical and, thankfully, he rang me a couple of weeks after that and said, ‘I’m absolutely fully committed to going forward and looking forward to it refreshed’.”
