Writing in the latest edition of Wisden Cricket Monthly, former England international Mark Ramprakash says there is 'no more qualified candidate' than Andy Flower to take over England men's white-ball team coach.
Just over two weeks ago, it was announced that Matthew Mott had stepped down from his position as England's white-ball coach, following failures to defend both the 50-over and T20 World Cup titles. It was under Mott that England had won their second T20 World Cup in 2022.
There has been much speculation over who will take over from Mott. England red-ball coach Brendon McCullum has been put forward as a contender, as have Kumar Sangakkara and World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan. Other names reportedly in the frame are Andrew Flintoff and Andy Flower.
Marcus Trescothick has been handed the role on an interim basis.
Ramprakash: The coach who merits the position is Andy Flower
In issue 80 of the Wisden Cricket Monthly, Ramprakash, who is also currently the batting coach for Middlesex writes, "In my view, the coach who merits the position is Andy Flower. He’s a deep thinker about the game and I have huge admiration for him.
"He had great success as England coach before an acrimonious end to his tenure following the 2013/14 Ashes and I think he’s reflected really well on his experience of being in the spotlight, and how he behaved when under stress.
"In the years since, he’s shown a lot of flexibility and adapted to different environments, having a lot of success in franchise leagues. He coached Trent Rockets to victory in The Hundred in 2022 and has plenty of experience in the IPL, currently as head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore."
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Flower's previous spell in charge of England's men's team came betwen 2009 and 2014. On that occasion, he coached the red-ball side for his entire tenure, but the last three years saw Ashley Giles take the reins of the white-ball teams.
While Ramprakash has backed Flower, he acknowledges that ECB managing director Rob Key may not go down this road. "As Key considers his options much will depend on how he views [Jos] Buttler’s future," he writes.
"The relationship between captain and coach is massive – if it doesn’t work, the team is not going to do well. But there’s no guarantee that Buttler is going to be captain after the Champions Trophy next February.
"If Key takes a short-term view, he may go with a head coach who Buttler gets on really well with, such as Sangakkara. But if he wants to build for the future, there’s no more qualified candidate than Flower."
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