With England’s head coach Chris Silverwood stepping down recently and the West Indies tour on the horizon, the England Cricket Board (ECB) has named Paul Collingwood as the interim head coach of the team for the tour of the Caribbean.
Andrew Strauss has been roped in by ECB as the interim director of cricket after the Ashes debacle and he has been making all the cricketing decisions related to the selection of the players, captaincy and coaching.
One of the key decisions that Strauss has already made is about the captaincy of Joe Root. Root had made it clear after the Ashes that he wanted to continue as England captain, but there were speculations that ECB might sack him. However, after taking over as director of cricket, Strauss has made it clear that Root will continue as the England test captain for the time being.
It remains to be seen if Strauss continues as England’s director of cricket for the long term or he will just put the new support staff in place and then depart, but it is understood right now that Australia’s outgoing coach Justin Langer might be one of the contenders for the job of the head coach of England.
Paul Collingwood is currently not a strong contender for a permanent job
Paul Collingwood, although he has taken charge on an interim basis for the England tour, isn’t a very strong contender for the England job on a permanent basis. The reason he has been put in charge temporarily is that the West Indies tour was not far away and it was impossible for ECB to get a permanent coach in that duration.
However, since Collingwood is now there in the interim capacity, he might be one of the few candidates to be interviewed by Strauss before a final decision is taken on the head coach. Strauss is also believed to be keen on the idea of having separate coaches for red ball and white ball set up.
If they indeed decide to implement that idea, it’s then possible that they slot either Justin Langer or Gary Kirsten to look after the test match team and Collingwood, along with a few others, gets in contention for the job of the specialist white ball coach.
It’s all up in the air for now and will be clearer in a few weeks’ time. Meanwhile, here is how Twitter reacted as Collingwood was named England’s head coach for the West Indies tour –
Paul Collingwood has been appointed as England's interim men's head coach for the three-match Test series against West Indies in March.
AdvertisementChris Silverwood left his role as head coach last week following England's 4-0 #Ashes defeat by Australia.#seanknows pic.twitter.com/6OYRlWFKB3
— Sean Cardovillis (@sean_cardo) February 7, 2022
Paul Collingwood has been appointed the interim headcoach for England's forthcoming 3 test tour of WI.
“I have spoken to Joe Root and Ben Stokes, both are excited & passionate to take the team forward in this new cycle,” pic.twitter.com/8uUTH7hTxV— Ayesha 🏴 (@JoeRoot66Fan) February 7, 2022
Paul Collingwood named interim England head coach for the upcoming Test tour of the Caribbean. No huge surprise, led the recent T20 trip and already on the payroll etc
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) February 7, 2022
Paul Collingwood will be England's Interim Head Coach for the Tests against West Indies next month. Squad expected to be named tomorrow.
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) February 7, 2022
All England players to be given a special medal for touring the West Indies, after having lost in the 3 Test series 0-3
The medal will have Paul Collingwood's face on one side, and the words "Thanks for coming" on the other
They will be made out of composteable plastic
Advertisement— Dugson Bobnutt ❤🏏💥 (@Dolleymore2) February 7, 2022
England name Paul Collingwood as interim head coach for next month's three-Test series in the Caribbean.
Advertisement— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) February 7, 2022
