Shane Warne keen to become England’s next head coach
Spin legend Shane Warne has thrown his hat to become England’s next head coach. One of the finest spinners, if not the finest, to have ever stepped onto the cricket field, Warne has been in the coaching arena since a while and has mentored many prominent teams like Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League and London Spirit in The Hundred.
The 52-year-old is now keen to join forces with the Three Lions, who have been struggling in Test cricket lately. Notably, England parted ways with their former head coach Chris Silverwood following the side’s humiliating 0-4 annihilation in Ashes. For the time being, former all-rounder Paul Collingwood has taken over as the interim head coach. However, ECB is yet to finalize a candidate for the full-time role.
It’s a great time to be England coach: Shane Warne
Speaking on the vacant position, Warne reckons he’ll do a ‘pretty good job.’ “I’d like to do it, it’s a great time to be England coach. I think I’d do a pretty good job, there’s a lot to work with. There are so many good players in England and a lot of depth, but you’ve got to get some of the basics right,” Warne said on Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
“You can’t bowl no-balls and drop so many catches, but you’ve got the players, they’re just not performing,” he added. In case, Warne is considered for the role, he’ll face stiff competition from his former teammate Justin Langer, who recently stepped down as Australia’s head coach. Notably, the southpaw was offered a short-term extension which he refused.
Disappointed with Langer’s sacking, Warne lashed out at Cricket Australia. “Cricket Australia were disgraceful in the way they handled it. Winning an Ashes series and a World Cup, it doesn’t get much bigger than that. But [Langer] was a dead man walking. When I didn’t hear the captain or any other players sticking up for him, saying he was fantastic, I found that really disappointing,” he said.
“Why couldn’t Cricket Australia come out and say they were not renewing his contract straight away but would wait until the end of the summer, see who the best candidate is, and if Langer is still the best candidate give him a contract? If I were England I’d be jumping at him,” he added.