Former England captain Nasser Hussain is backing “serial winner” Andy Flower to become the new white-ball coach of the England cricket team after Matthew Mott resigned from his post.
Mott was England’s head coach when they won the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia by beating Pakistan in the final. However, doubts about his future were raised after the team’s below-par performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 and T20 World Cup 2024 and he eventually stepped down.
Flower is currently leading Trent Rockets at The Hundred and Hussain believes that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) already have the “perfect” candidate.
"There are some really good candidates, there is Kumar Sangakkara, there is Andy Flower, who is a serial winner with England and (in) franchise cricket," Sky Sports pundit Hussain told the PA news agency.
"Some would view [Flower] as a backward step - 'never go back, you are going back to a former England coach' - but I think Andy has moved on.
"Andy was very anti-franchise and IPL, but that was a very long time ago. Now he has travelled the world, winning for most franchises and doing some really good things.
"He is a brilliant coach. You just have to look at his CV and, if Rob Key got Andy Flower's CV out, there is hardly a better option than that, but again it is if Andy wants to do it.
"Brendon McCullum, look at the impact he's had on the Test side, brilliant. They are all very good candidates and I repeat the job is not so much finding the candidate, it is finding the candidate that actually wants to do the job."
Hussain also backed the ECB’s decision to keep Jos Buttler as the team’s captain after there were reports that the wicketkeeper batter may be dismissed from the captaincy.
"Jos is a very switched on and smart lad. He'll know if they continue to lose, he'll be the next one in line,” Hussain added. "That dynamic of captain-coach, I think that was the issue with Buttler and with Mott.
"With Buttler being such a softly spoken, calm and quiet individual, you probably needed a more dynamic personality [as head coach].
"[Eoin] Morgan worked with [Trevor] Bayliss because Morgan was such an impactful captain and so dynamic.
"I think with this England side, they probably need a more hands-on coach to drive them forward."
- Andy Flower
