Shane Warne keen to become England’s next head coach
“I’d like to do it, it’s a great time to be England coach,” he said.
Australian cricket legend Shane Warne has thrown his hat in the ring to become the next head coach of the England cricket team, a position which is currently vacant.
Following England's forgettable 4-0 loss in the Ashes 2021/22 series, played Down Under, Chris Silverwood was removed from the role of the team's head coach. Paul Collingwood has been named as the interim head coach for the impending Test tour of West Indies, but the board is yet to name a permanent successor to Silverwood.
Speaking on the vacant position on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Warne, who will be coaching the London Spirit's men's team in the upcoming The Hundred tournament, has expressed his desire to mentor the England team of offered the opportunity.
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"I'd like to do it, it's a great time to be England coach," he said. "I think I'd do a pretty good job, there's a lot to work with. There are so many good players in England and a lot of depth, but you've got to get some of the basics right. You can't bowl no-balls and drop so many catches, but you've got the players, they're just not performing."
If considered for the role, Warne is likely to face competition from Australia's former head coach Justin Langer, who had stepped down from his role after rejecting Cricket Australia's short-term contract extension despite mentoring the side to T20 World Cup and Ashes win.
Although Langer has not been named officially as part of the race for the job, Andrew Strauss, England's interim managing director, did not rule out his contention.
"Cricket Australia were disgraceful in the way they handled it," he said. "Winning an Ashes series and a World Cup, it doesn't get much bigger than that. But [Langer] was a dead man walking. When I didn't hear the captain or any other players sticking up for him, saying he was fantastic, I found that really disappointing.
"Why couldn't Cricket Australia come out and say they were not renewing his contract straight away but would wait until the end of the summer, see who the best candidate is, and if Langer is still the best candidate give him a contract? If I were England I'd be jumping at him."
