The England and Wales Cricket Board has sacked Brendon McCullum from the role of Test head coach, with Andy Flower in the running to replace the former New Zealand captain. However, according to reports, there is a condition for Flower that if he has to leave the job with the franchise, he will not be interested in taking up the role of head coach.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is keen to appoint Andy Flower after removing Brendon McCullum as Test coach, The Eye reported on Sunday. But the Zimbabwean is not happy with leaving the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) role as he has enjoyed back-to-back IPL wins with the team and other franchise team roles.
Can Andy Flower bring back England’s lost glory in Test cricket?
During his tenure as head coach, the Three Lions had their best time, as Flower led the team to No. 1 in the Test rankings in 2011 and won series in Australia and India. He understands the pulse and knows what the team needs and gets the best out of every player.
However, he does not want to part ways with RCB in the IPL or London Spirit in The Hundred. That’s why ECB chief executive Richard Gould revealed on Sunday that the governing body is prepared to be flexible and enable any new coach to continue working in franchise cricket while coaching England. But the former Zimbabwe captain has not ruled himself out completely.
ECB faces hurdles in appointing Andy Flower as new Test head coach
The ECB is considering whether he could work with the governing body again, having worked in a broader role as a pathway coach since stepping down from the Test role in 2014, which could also help. Now the ECB will have to overcome some hurdles to appoint Andy Flower as the head coach of the Test team once again.
Flowers, who earns more than £500,000 a year for three months’ work at both RCB and London Spirit franchises, which are associate franchises in various tournaments. He will be unable to leave his post as London Spirit coach to take charge of the Test team this summer as the Hundred begins just three days before England’s first Test against Pakistan at Headingley.
Why can’t Andy Flower and Brendon McCullum work together?
Also, the ECB will have to wait till winter to appoint them but there is some other hurdle too, the IPL 2027 auction is expected to take place during the third week of December when England is touring South Africa for a three-Test series, the first game of which starts on December 17 and is likely to clash with the IPL auction.
The main problem will be the working relationship with Robb, who remains as director of cricket, and McCullum, who remains head coach of the white-ball team. As McCullum and Andy Flower have very different coaching styles, the latter pays meticulous attention to details and demands that everything be absolutely perfect.