England are on the hunt for a new full-time head coach following the departure of Matthew Mott after two years in the role.
Whoever is chosen to take charge of the sides will be tasked with instigating a dramatic turnaround. England lost both their 50-over and 20-over crown over the last nine months, with a disastrous title defence in India followed by being knocked-out in the T20 World Cup semi-finals in the Caribbean. Equally, with management priorities set firmly on the Ashes next year, player availability for white-ball bilateral series may be limited.
Following Australia's double-series in England later in the summer, for which Marcus Trescothick will take charge on an interim basis, the new coach's first assignment will be another trip to the West Indies for three ODIs and five T20Is, starting the run-in to next year's Champions Trophy. There will also be a tour to India in January, ahead of the tournament in Pakistan in February.
Reports, rumours and opinions: Who could be the next England white-ball coach?
An early frontrunner for the job was former allrounder turned coach Andrew Flintoff. Flintoff has been working in England's white-ball coaching set-up since 2023, and took over as head coach of Northern Superchargers men for the ongoing edition of The Hundred. However, it was reported last week that Flintoff is unlikely to be considered for the role at this point.
Michael Atherton gave his backing to former England cross-format coach Andy Flower. Writing in The Times, Atherton said: "He is undoubtedly the outstanding candidate... Along with Duncan Fletcher, Flower was one of England’s two best coaches of the modern era, at a time before the schedule made it impossible to coach both Test and white-ball teams. He took England to the top of the world rankings in Test cricket by driving a hard bargain with his players and won England’s first global white-ball tournament in 2010. He was tough, uncompromising and successful."
Another former coach inline for a potential return is Paul Farbrace, who was assistant coach to Trevor Bayliss for England's 2019 triumph. Farbrace is currently in charge of Sussex on the English domestic circuit, but has also coached Sri Lanka, leading them to the 2014 men's T20 World Cup title.
The bookies' favourite last week was former Sri Lanka captain and ex MCC President, Kumar Sangakkara. Having worked closely with Jos Buttler at Rajasthan Royals, Sangakkara has led the Royals to two play-offs in his four years in charge. Rob Key also has a history of recruiting from franchise jobs, with Brendon McCullum securing the Test coaching top job after spending three years with Kolkata Knight Riders. Other candidates who have been mentioned following success in IPL coaching roles include Stephen Fleming, Michael Hussey and Simon Katich.
There have also been more recently retired former players floated as options for the job. Eoin Morgan ruled himself out of the running on Sky Sports commentary but has still been mentioned by several outlets as in the running for the job, while James Foster's name has also been floated. Foster retired from professional cricket in 2018 and was head coach of Northern Superchargers men for the first three editions of The Hundred.
Former England bowler turned pundit Steven Finn has backed Jonathan Trott as the right man to take over from Mott. Trott recently stepped down as Afghanistan's head coach, having led them to a best-ever 50-over World Cup performance as well as the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup for the first time. Writing for BBC Sport, Finn said Trott "has a forceful personality" and "can be necessarily prickly at the right times and has played cricket recently enough to understand the modern game. Trott is well respected but not so revered that his presence would undermine the captain."
There's also the potential for a double New Zealand lineup in England's coaching department, with Daniel Vettori also reportedly in line as a candidate. Vettori is currently an assistant coach with Australia but could mirror his former BlackCap teammate McCullum as an England coach. He has also held coaching roles with Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he's worked with Harry Brook and Adil Rashid.
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