Gary Kirsten in line to become England’s Test coach: Reports
Gary Kirsten and England (Source: Twitter)
The last few months haven’t really been great for English cricket. Their performance in the longest format of the game has been below-par, to say the least. Besides, their red-ball skipper Joe Root stepped down from his position not too long ago.
After losing the Ashes 2021-22 by 0-4, Chris Silverwood was axed as England’s head coach. Paul Collingwood was then appointed the interim head coach for their upcoming series against the West Indies. However, England lost the three-match Test series to the Windies as well. Thus, England desperately need a good coach who can change their fortunes in red-ball cricket.
According to a report by Fox Cricket, Gary Kirsten has been approached to become England’s Test coach. It is to be noted that the ECB Director Rob Key is adamant about split coaching roles for different formats. As far as Kirsten is concerned, then he himself was keen on taking up the role. He had earlier stated that it would be an honour.
“Listen, it [the England job] is always a consideration because it’s a tremendous honour. I’ve walked this journey twice now and I’ve always made it clear that I would never commit to doing all formats. And when international cricket boards get their head around the fact that they need to split coaching roles, then it becomes a consideration,” Gary Kirsten had told in December last year.
In the meanwhile, there were several reports of Justin Langer being considered for the role as well. However, according to Nick Hoult from Telegraph, the 51-year-old is no longer in contention to coach the Brits. There were doubts about him and Ben Stokes working together.
“With Stokes as captain, England believe the need for a strongman head coach like Langer is reduced. Whereas Root did his best to avoid confrontation and needed more back-up from a forceful personality behind him, Stokes is completely different. He will readily pull players back into line himself but will need a coach who is good tactically and a facilitator behind the scenes.
Langer is no longer a candidate partly because England want to split the coaching roles and reservations over whether he would work well with Ben Stokes, who is set to be appointed Test captain,” the Telegraph’s Nick Hoult wrote.
