Nasser Hussain believes there are few better options than serial winner Andy Flower for the vacant England white-ball head coach position, but has doubts about whether he will get it.
Matthew Mott left the post last week after two mixed years in which he led England to success in the 2022 T20 World Cup before disappointing performances in the last two major limited-overs tournaments.
The hunt for Mott’s successor has begun after Rob Key, director of England men’s cricket, said a “new direction” was needed, with the next target being the Champions Trophy in February.
Matthew Mott has resigned as head coach of the England men’s national team.
Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick was appointed on an interim basis.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 30, 2024
Hussain believes the England and Wales Cricket Board could have the perfect candidate for The Hundred, where Flower, who coached the national team for five years between 2009 and 2014, leads the Trent Rockets.
“There are some really good candidates, there’s Kumar Sangakkara, there’s Andy Flower who is a serial winner with England and in franchise cricket,” Sky Sports pundit Hussain told the PA news agency.
“Some would see (Flower) as a step backwards – ‘Never go back, you’re going back to a former England manager’ – but I think Andy has moved on.
“Andy was very anti-franchise and anti-IPL but that was a long time ago. Now he has travelled the world, won for most franchises and done some really good things.
“He’s a brilliant coach. You just have to look at his CV. If Rob Key pulls out Andy Flower’s CV, there’s hardly a better option. But it’s only possible if Andy wants to do it.
“And if England see it as a bit of a step back and want someone younger and fresher, I don’t know. But I leave those decisions to Rob Key.”
“I’m just looking for the best person for the job, it’s as simple as that. I’ve worked with Kumar and (he has) a brilliant brain. I’ve played with Andy Flower and seen him, a brilliant player-coach, a brilliant man.
“Brendon McCullum, look at the impact he has had on the Test team, brilliant. They are all very good candidates and I repeat, the task is not so much to find the candidate but to find the candidate who actually wants to do the job.”
Hussain, who captained the England national team between 1999 and 2003, supported Key’s decision to keep Buttler as captain of the white-ball team for the time being.
But he added: “Jos is a very bright and clever boy. He knows if they keep losing, he’ll be next in line.
“That captain-coach dynamic, I think that was the problem with Buttler and Mott.
“With Buttler being such a soft-spoken, calm and quiet person, you (as head coach) probably would have needed a more dynamic personality.
“(Eoin) Morgan worked with (Trevor) Bayliss because Morgan was such an influential and dynamic captain.
“I think the English team probably needs a coach who will show more commitment and take them forward.”
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