As the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) moves heaven and earth to find a new Test head coach after sacking Brendon McCullum last week from that role, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has come out in support of ex-teammate Jonathan Trott and hopes he is the replacement for the New Zealander in red-ball cricket.
From 2009-2015, 45-year-old Trott played 52 Tests, 68 ODIs and 7 T20Is. He won three Ashes and scored a match-winning second-innings century on debut in the time-honoured contest. In the 2010-11 Ashes, he played a big part in England winning the contest in Australia after a long gap of 24 years. The right-handed batsman was also part of the team that stunned India in India in 2012-13. At present, he is a short-term consultant with Ireland. His tenure as the head coach of Afghanistan ended earlier this year in February.
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In a massive endorsement post on X, Pietersen wrote Trott is hard-working, dedicated and has a great cricket brain. He goes on to add that Trott is emotionally intelligent and respected as he chose no shortcuts in cricket, whether as a player or as a coach. Pietersen finishes his post with: “Hopefully, he’s a frontrunner for England red-ball team.”
Earlier on Friday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower ruled himself out of the role following a discussion with the ECB. The English board was keen on securing his services, but Flower chose to stick with the IPL champions of the last two seasons.
When asked by Cricinfo if he had turned down the offer, Flower replied, “I have, yes.” Flower also coaches The Hundred side London Spirit. The league starts next week. “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.”