Ricky Ponting rejects England coaching role

It has been a disappointing last six months for the England national cricket team. In the Ashes 2021/22, they lost 0-4 to Australia, which forced the board to sack the then head coach Chris Silverwood.

England lost another away series against West Indies 0-1 in March, with Paul Collingwood as the stand-in head coach. After these losses, the team is languishing at the bottom of the WTC 2021-23 table and is in dire need of a quality coach.

In the latest news development, the former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has rejected a proposal to be the coach of the England team. According to the England Director of Cricket Rob Key, Ponting is not interested in the role.

Last year, the board with the deepest pockets, BCCI, also offered a role to Ponting as head coach of the Indian team. However, he rejected and cited the reason for a long time away from home and had to leave the Channel 7 stint as well.

Ponting was tempted to combine coaching England with his role at IPL franchise Delhi Capitals, but he could not tempt Ponting enough, who has other priorities on his mind.

On the other hand, the former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene had also turned down the offer of Rob Key. However, it is evident that Mahela is the head coach of Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Southern Brave in The Hundred, and he is relishing his role and has declined Key's offer.

Ottis Gibson, who is the current head coach of Yorkshire, is fast emerging to be a potential candidate for the same role of the England team.

He served as the fast-bowling coach for Bangladesh and South Africa. Interestingly, he has donned the same role for the England team in two separate tenures, 2007-10 and 2015-17 as well.

It remains to be seen if the England Cricket Board can convince the experienced campaigner to take up the head coach role.