The Cricket Thread

Balladeer wrote:Australia win with ruthless efficiency

Balladeer wrote:Back injury apparently. Instead Durham have Sean Dickson - who, it must be said, isn't working out so badly thus far this game.

Exclusive: Gary Kirsten approached to be new England Test coach after reservations about Justin Langer

Gary Kirsten has been approached by England to be the new head coach of the Test team. Telegraph Sport also understands that Justin Langer is out of the running for the job.

Kirsten came close to being appointed head coach in 2019 but the job was given to Chris Silverwood instead, with the then director of cricket Ashley Giles preferring one man to be in charge of both red and white-ball cricket. His replacement, Rob Key, will split the coaching roles and it is understood England have been in touch with Kirsten to sound him out over the Test role. Kirsten declined to comment when approached by Telegraph Sport. 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. Stokes will meet with Key this week to discuss the role and one of his first moves as Joe Root’s replacement will be to bring back Stuart Broad and James Anderson.

Stokes wants England’s two legendary bowlers to play a full part this summer, injury and rest periods permitting. Broad is in line to play his first game of the season this week for Nottinghamshire against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge. Broad was close to retiring and taking a job with Sky when he was dropped after the Ashes and would probably have walked away if Root had stayed in the job and England won in the West Indies. But his departure, the defeat in the Caribbean and the appointment of Key have made a recall much more likely and along with Anderson he will be back to help Stokes get off to a winning start in the series with New Zealand in June. Neither Broad nor Anderson will play all seven Tests this summer, those days are over, and it may well be unlikely they appear together again, but they will be given more than sentimental one-off farewell match. Both will be integral members of the squad again.

Kirsten is currently working in the IPL as a batting coach with the Gujarat Lions. He has previously publicly declared his interest in coaching England but only if the role is divided between Test and white-ball cricket.

Simon Katich, the former Australia batsman, and Graham Ford, who worked with Key at Kent, are also candidates but Kirsten has a proven track record of success with India and South Africa and is now the frontrunner. Kirsten coached India from 2008-11, leading them to the World Cup on home soil before leaving to become South Africa head coach. He is already on the ECB payroll as coach of the Welsh Fire team in the Hundred. 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.

Kirsten, 54, would also be a big-name signing for Key, and represent less of a gamble than appointing a home-grown coach such as Silverwood. It would also possibly allow him to appoint a less experienced English coach for the white-ball team, such as Paul Collingwood. The one-day side does need regeneration soon but there is much greater work to be done with the Test side. This winter’s schedule makes it virtually impossible for one man to coach both teams with tours by England’s white and red-ball sides overlapping at times. Kirsten was interviewed in 2019 for the head coach’s job and approached in 2015 as well when Trevor Bayliss was appointed by Sir Andrew Strauss. Both times England decided against splitting the coaching role. Now that view has changed under Key, reflecting the increasing volume of cricket played by England, and Kirsten is a vastly experienced option.

“Listen, it [the England job] is always a consideration because it’s a tremendous honour,” he said in December. “I’ve walked this journey twice now and I’ve always made it clear that I would never commit to doing all formats. When international cricket boards get their head around the fact that they need to split coaching roles, then it becomes a consideration.”

Key is also expected to meet with Anderson and Broad this week and his bulging to-do list also includes starting the search for a chairman of selectors, a trickier role to fill with fewer obvious candidates than the head coach’s job.

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