Veteran World Cup-winning coach and South African batting great Gary Kirsten has expressed his intentions to accept the England coaching position, should the job come his way.
This was after England’s horrendous Ashes performance, which will most likely end in current coach Chris Silverwood getting the axe. Silverwood had, in fact, pipped Kirsten to take over the England side back in 2019 but is now struggling with his back against the wall.
Kirsten’s interest in taking up the England job has been well documented, having applied twice in the past, in 2015 and 2019. However, both times, he saw the opportunity going elsewhere. Kirsten himself has been reluctant to coach national teams after 2013, as he instead spends time with his family. However, he has taken up coaching positions in T20 franchises, including the Royal Challengers Bangalore, and the Durban Heat, among otters.
Kirsten was the bookmakers’ favourite to take over the England coaching setup post-Trevor Bayliss’ era. He had even met with the ECB with what he considered a ‘token interview‘, and that the board had already done so decided on giving him the reins. This was not to be, as quite surprisingly, current under-fire coach Silverwood was handed the job.
The ECB already has Kirsten in their system, with him being the coach of The Hundred franchise Welsh Fire. In an interview on Thursday, he said that he would very much like the opportunity to coach England, having come close just two years prior.
Nevertheless, he made it amply clear that he was only willing to either coach the white-ball or the red-ball squads, and could not possibly handle both responsibilities.
“Listen, the England job is always a consideration because it’s a tremendous honour. Working with a Test side, or working with an ODI side is great.
Listen, the England ODI side is setup, you’re the best ODI side in the world at the moment
I’ve walked this journey twice now and I’ve always made it clear that I would never commit to doing all formats.”
he said.
The ECB is apparently open to splitting the coaching staff between the white-ball and red-ball sides after managing director Ashley Giles rejected the idea back in 2014.
The board’s current activities could be considered a trial run of this very idea, as Paul Collingwood and Graham Thorpe have been put in charge of the white-ball side that is to tour the West Indies in the days to come.
