After his nomination was authorized by new managing director, Rob Key, on Tuesday, Ben Stokes will be announced as England Test captain soon. Stokes’ selection as Test skipper might be announced as early as this week. After Root’s departure following the West Indies Test series loss, Stokes is the only viable candidate for the role. This article talks in detail about England’s new Test captain, England’s Test Head Coach 2022, and the top contenders in the line.
On Tuesday, Key traveled to the northeast to meet with Stokes, whose appointment as Joe Root’s replacement might be revealed as soon as Thursday. It’s a move that’s been expected since Joe Root announced his retirement on April 15, allowing his great buddy and vice-captain to take over without feeling betrayed.
During this time, the England and Wales Cricket Board has published a job advertisement confirming the appointment of two head coaches, one for Test cricket and the other for limited-overs cricket. Between 2012 and 2014, England had two distinct head coaches, with Andy Flower in charge of red-ball cricket and Ashley Giles in charge of white-ball cricket.
After England’s 4-0 Ashes drubbing this winter, Chris Silverwood stepped down as head coach, with Paul Collingwood taking over on an interim basis for the 1-0 Test series defeat in the West Indies in March. “The new head coaches will play a vital role in choosing the team for their respective format with a national selection panel,” according to the job posting.
With Ed Smith departing the ECB and then-coach Silverwood in charge of player selection, the job of the national selector was previously eliminated in 2021. The deadline to apply for the head coach positions is May 6, with first-round interviews scheduled for May 9 and 10.
Former India and South Africa head coach Gary Kirsten, who was interviewed by England ahead of Silverwood’s appointment in 2019, and ex-Surrey, Sri Lanka, and Ireland coach Graham Ford, who Key served under at Kent, have also indicated interest. Kirsten has stated that he would welcome the opportunity to coach England in Test cricket. Simon Katich, a former Australian batter, is also a contender.
After periods as a player with Lancashire, Yorkshire, Hampshire, Durham, and Derbyshire, the 46-year-old from England has a considerable understanding of county cricket. Katich, like Kirsten, is a current coach in The Hundred (he coaches Manchester Originals, whilst Kirsten coaches Welsh Fire) and has coaching experience in the Indian Premier League.
The ECB is looking for people who can “create a high-performance culture that drives outstanding performance on and off the field, ensuring England teams are capable of winning consistently in all formats, home and away,” as well as form “effective working relationships with all of the counties, drawing on the expertise and experience of coaches from across the country.” Ottis Gibson, Simon Katich, and Kirsten Dunst have all expressed interest in one of the parts.
