Last Updated on 43 minutes ago by Charbel Coorey
Andy Flower has ruled himself out of the England men’s Test job, saying he is comfortable with his current roles with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL and London Spirit in The Hundred.
Flower revealed he spoke with director of men’s cricket Rob Key. However, he couldn’t be persuaded despite England considering the possibility of Flower job sharing with his T20 franchise commitments.
Really comfortable with where I am at the moment – Andy Flower on rejecting the role of England Test coach
Flower coached England previously between 2009 and 2014. They enjoyed one of their most successful periods, winning against Australia and India both home and away, and reaching number one in the rankings.
Zimbabwe’s greatest batsman said he couldn’t share the roles, stating the England Test job requires full focus. He still has two years left on his IPL contract and the clash with England’s season makes job-sharing a very difficult proposition.
“For me personally, I don’t think I could have done both, especially with the IPL being held during the first couple of months of the English summer,” Flower said at the London Spirit media day, as quoted by Telegraph Sport.
“If I was England Test coach, I’d like to be here watching and interacting with the people I needed to watch and interact with, so for me, that wasn’t a possibility.”
Flower also spoke of the enjoyment he gets from his current roles. He has led RCB to consecutive IPL titles and won The Hundred with Trent Rockets in 2022, enhancing his status as one of the best coaches in the world.
“I have spoken with Rob [Key] and the ECB on that topic. The bottom line for me is that I’m very happy in the work that I’m doing at the moment. I work for a couple of really good organisations, I’ve got really good teams around me, really good people around me. I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing at the moment,” he said.
“I’ve worked with England before and I had an amazing time when I had the privilege to be England head coach and represent England as one of their leaders a number of years ago, and I remember those years really fondly, and it would be a privilege for me or anyone else to be the Test coach.
“But for me at this time, I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing. I’m going to stick with doing that.”
England’s search for a new Test coach will continue with numerous other candidates including Richard Dawson and Jonathan Trott. Their next Test series will be against Pakistan starting August 19.
