Royal Challengers Bengaluru mastermind Andy Flower has said no to the England and Wales Cricket Board’s proposal to become the new Test head coach of the national team after the removal of Brendon McCullum last week.
The ECB apparently were so willing to take him on board that they even proposed the idea of Flower keeping two roles at once, at the English Test team as well as at the RCB. But Flower, who earlier coached England to three Ashes wins and a Test series win in India between 2009 and 2014, didn’t find that a great idea since the IPL and the English summer coincided, and that wouldn’t have been ideal for preparations.
When asked by Cricinfo if he had turned down the offer, Flower replied, “I have, yes,” Flower, who also coaches The Hundred side London Spirit, said on Friday ahead of the start of the 100-ball-per-innings event. “I have spoken with the ECB. We’re all aware of the vacancy for the head coach job of the England national team, and I have spoken with Rob [Key] and the ECB on that topic. [But] the bottom line for me is that I’m very happy in the work that I’m doing at the moment,” he added.
Speaking about how the RCB and the ECB jobs couldn’t be held by him at the same time, Flower said: “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. If I was England Test coach, I’d like to be here [in the UK] watching and interacting with the people I needed to watch and interact with. So for me, that wasn’t a possibility.”
“I work for a couple of really good organisations [RCB and London Spirit]. I’ve got really good teams around me and good people around me, and I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing at the moment.
“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,” he added.
