ECB start interviews for England Test coach role, Gary Kirsten frontrunner for the position

England Cricket Board (ECB) have started the process of filling up the coach position for its men’s Test team. The board on May 9 (Monday) started the interviews, with ECB managing director Rob Key leading the process. It might be a possibility that the coach for the Test team will be selected by the end of the current week, which would allow him to give his suggestions to select the squad for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand.

Giving more information about the coaching position, Key has emphasized splitting up the coaching of Test and limited over format because of Three Lion’s busy schedule. As per several reports, former Australia player Simon Katich and World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten are the leading names to take the role. However, Graham Ford and Jason Gillespie are also in the mix. Meanwhile, former England batter Paul Collingwood remains the favorite for the white-ball job.

It may be noted that England will take on New Zealand in a three-match Test match series starting from June 2 (Thursday). The Three Lions will be under the new leadership of star all-rounder Ben Stokes, who was recently appointed as skipper replacing Joe Root.

Root stepped down as the captain after England suffered a humiliating Ashes series loss after a defeat at the hands of the West Indies. To note, Stokes has been a prominent performer for England across all three formats and he was the hero during the 2019 World Cup final match against New Zealand in Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Talking about Stokes’s numbers in the longest format of the game, the left-handed batter has played a total of 79 matches and has amassed 5061 runs at a decent average of 35.89. He has stroked 26 fifties and 11 hundred in the Test format. With the ball, he has taken 174 wickets.