England fans have named Justin Langer as their choice to become next head coach - sending a strong message to the ECB over their preferred candidate.
Andrew Strauss, the ECB’s interim managing director of men’s cricket, is currently leading the search for who should replace Chris Silverwood as head coach following the dismal Ashes tour to Australia, and fans have named former Baggy Green coach Langer as their choice for the role.
Langer departed his position as Australia coach earlier this month after Cricket Australia only offered him a short-term contract extension and, in a Cricket Mirror survey that listed 10 candidates, 46.6% of fans said the former opening bat should be the next England coach.
The 51-year-old enjoyed a very successful three-and-a-half-year spell in charge of Australia, rebuilding a team that had been shattered by the infamous sandpaper scandal before leading them to success in last year’s T20 World Cup and successfully defending the Ashes in England in 2019 before winning the most recent series 4-0.
Yet it has not been completely plain sailing, with a series defeat to an injury-hit India side at the start of last year prompting questions over his intense coaching style, which is said to have alienated some players in the Australia dressing room.
This led to some pundits speculating that England’s players may not take to Langer’s demanding style, but he is clearly the fans’ favourite for the role.
Langer was coach of both Australia’s white-ball and red-ball teams and, despite Strauss’ hints that England may look to separate the coaching roles, 58.5% of fans want to see the same head coach for both set-ups.
That would seemingly rule out Gary Kirsten, who was the second-most popular option on our survey, gaining 18.5% of the votes.
Whilst the South African is thought to be high in the running for the role after narrowly missing out on the job to Silverwood in 2019, he recently stated that he would only be interested in coaching the Test side due to the huge commitment required to coach both sides.
Two more Australian legends came third and fourth on our survey, with Ricky Ponting gaining 8.8% of the vote and 6.9% of fans choosing Jason Gillespie.
Yet both of these options appear unlikely, with Ponting tipped to succeed Langer as Australia coach and Gillespie settled in his home country with a young family after a successful stint of county coaching in England.
The highest-placed English coach on the list is Alec Stewart, with 5.1% keen to see the former England skipper take the role after eight years as director of cricket at Surrey.
Strauss has said that a good series in West Indies could put Paul Collingwood, current interim coach, in the frame for the permanent role, and 4.5% of fans believe the former England all-rounder should be the next head coach.
Agree with these results? Have your say in the comments below.
