Steve Harmison believes England 's current interim head coach Paul Collingwood is the "best candidate out there" to get the job full time.
England axed previous head coach Chris Silverwood last month in the wake of their humiliating 4-0 defeat to Australia in the Ashes. Collingwood, who has been an assistant coaches since 2019, was subsequently handed the reins for the ongoing tour of the Caribbean.
The 45-year-old, who made over 300 appearances for England as a player, has expressed an interest in taking the role permanently. "I've always loved working with England and as long as I can make a difference, I'll be happy," Collingwood told BBC Sport.
"It depends on what job is up for offer. We don't know until a managing director comes in. We will have to wait and see."
And his former teammate Harmison has backed him to get the job, claiming the Test team "needs somebody like Paul". Speaking to talkSPORT , Harmison said: "He won’t thank me for saying this but I’d give him the red-ball job after seeing what I’ve seen this month.
"He was a shoe-in for the white-ball job, [but] I think you can give him both to be honest because he enjoys being away from home, he enjoys the fact that he’s in with the group, he can distract himself from it and I would definitely give him the red-ball job because the red-ball needs somebody like Paul, I really do.
"I'm not sitting here saying that he should be given the job because he’s a friend, I’m saying he should be given the job because he’s the best candidate out there. He’s got a connection with these players and he’s different to Chris Silverwood.
"There is a hardness to Paul Collingwood and a ruthlessness to Paul Collingwood that I don’t think was in Chris Silverwood. I always thought that the dynamic was the wrong way around when Paul was behind and not in front.
"The distance between him playing and not playing, I think he’s alright with that and he’s comfortable with the surroundings along with Marcus Trescothick, Jon Lewis and Jeetan Patel. I would give this group to Colly, Tres, Jeetan and Lewis because they've started off very nicely here."
