Andrew Strauss faces a race against time to appoint England’s new head coach before the Ashes after the two Australians he had earmarked as the strongest candidates both distanced themselves from the job yesterday.
The sense of chaos surrounding English cricket at the start of another Ashes summer continued when Justin Langer ruled himself out of contention and Jason Gillespie said he would ‘take some persuading’ to leave Yorkshire.
It is another setback for England on the eve of tomorrow’s first Investec Test against New Zealand, following the sacking of Peter Moores and the unending recriminations surrounding Kevin Pietersen’s exile.
Gillespie has been favourite to replace Moores ever since he was sacked in the wake of England’s defeat by the West Indies in Barbados but it emerged that Strauss, the new director of cricket, has twice contacted his old Middlesex team-mate Langer.
‘Andrew Strauss rang me up last Tuesday and we spoke again on Friday,’ said the Western Australia coach. ‘And I promised I would tell him by Saturday if I was interested in joining the process. Then I told him for lots of reasons that I am going to stay in Perth.
‘When I followed my gut and my heart it was an easy decision. If I was following my head it was probably a hard one. One day I would like to coach Australia.’
It always appeared unlikely that Langer would be a serious contender, as he is settled with his young family in his home city and has been earmarked as the long-term successor to Darren Lehmann as the next Australia coach.
He is also fiercely patriotic and, as part of his country’s golden generation, would rarely waste an opportunity to tell an English audience how much the Baggy Green cap meant to him. He would have been an improbable England coach.
Gillespie, while also a proud Australian, is a much more feasible choice but it is clear that Strauss is going to have to work hard to convince him to leave his twin coaching roles with Yorkshire and Adelaide Strikers.
‘I would certainly take some persuading,’ Gillespie told BBC Sport yesterday.
‘I wake up every morning and I’m in my dream job. It’s just fantastic but I don’t know what the future holds. It’s very flattering but I haven’t had any contact and until that happens, I can’t say anything.’
Gillespie is another man with a young family and it is his wife and four children, who are settled in Leeds, who hold the key to Strauss being able to convince him to join the year-long, gruelling treadmill of the international circuit.
‘Look, we’re happy here and I feel like I owe this club,’ Gillespie told Sportsmail after leading Yorkshire to the County Championship title last year. ‘They took a bit of a punt on me. I’d done some coaching but my c.v. wasn’t that strong and I’m thankful for the opportunity to repay Yorkshire’s faith.
‘I’ll never quite get the accent myself but my kids are all talking like Yorkshiremen. My four-year-old boy just sounds like one and my older two have got the twang. There’s no hope of my two-year-old daughter having an Aussie accent!’
Strauss clearly has some persuading to do when he contacts Gillespie, probably later this week, but at least he knows the England team are in more than capable hands in the form of interim coach Paul Farbrace.
The new director of cricket may have said last week that he views Farbrace more as a No 2 but he has the benefit of being English and also the pedigree of having led Sri Lanka to the World Twenty20 and Asia Cup titles last year.
The presence of Farbrace gives England, who clearly dismissed Moores without having their new man anywhere near lined up, some breathing space.
‘No-one’s in any rush right now,’ an insider told Sportsmail. ‘Yes, an appointment in time for the Ashes would be preferred but it’s more a question of getting the right man.
‘There is a sense that the current guy may make the grade. Having Farbrace in place makes a big difference. He’s not a traditional No 2 and that buys us time.’
Strauss, meanwhile, addressed England at their London hotel yesterday to explain the decisions to sack Moores and further ostracise Pietersen, while outlining his vision for yet another new era that begins at Lord’s tomorrow.
‘He was very open and honest about what has gone on and all the players respected that,’ said England batsman-wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. ‘Nothing has been kept from anyone and everyone knows the reasons things are happening.
‘Everyone wants to see English cricket back at the top and getting back to No 1 in the world is everyone’s ambition. As players you want to inspire the younger generation and encourage the public to watch the game and play it themselves.’ – Daily Mail