NEW DELHI: Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes Andy Flower is the ideal candidate to replace Brendon McCullum as England’s Test head coach following the end of the ‘Bazball’ era. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Sunday that McCullum will step down as Test coach after four years in charge but will continue to lead England’s ODI and T20 teams.McCullum’s departure came after England lost the Ashes 1-4 in Australia and suffered seven defeats in their last nine Test matches, including a recent home series loss to New Zealand. Hussain said England need someone with great attention to detail and believes Flower is the perfect fit.“For me, the best person for that would be Andy Flower by a country mile. Flower took England to number one in the world. I love Flower’s approach to coaching – he was meticulous in everything that he did,” Hussain told Sky Sports News.He added that those qualities have been missing from England’s Test team in recent years.“That’s what’s been lacking in this England Test match side. I would do anything if I was Rob Key (ECB Managing Director) and the ECB to go and get Andy Flower.”
‘Giving all the roles to McCullum was a mistake’
Hussain also questioned the ECB’s decision to hand both the red-ball and white-ball coaching roles to McCullum.“I don’t think it was the right thing to do for Rob Key to give both the white-ball and the Test jobs to the same person. I think it’s the right thing now for McCullum to focus on white-ball cricket. Giving McCullum [all the roles] was a mistake with the modern schedule”He believes McCullum is better suited to the limited-overs format.“[On Saturday], they won at Southampton, they are the number one T20 ranked team in the world – I think his coaching style is suited for white-ball cricket,” he said. Hussain praised McCullum for transforming England’s Test side after taking charge in 2022 alongside captain Ben Stokes. Under McCullum, England played an aggressive brand of cricket that became known as ‘Bazball’ and recorded memorable series wins over New Zealand and Pakistan, while drawing the 2023 home Ashes series 2-2.However, Hussain believes recent performances made a coaching change unavoidable.“No one is overly thrilled when a coach loses his job, and you do have to remember the great times that McCullum gave us,” Hussain said.“He is a coach that the brand of cricket – ‘Bazball’ – was named after. From where England were before him and Stokes, I think it would be wrong not to mention the way they played at the start. They were an absolute joy to watch. In the end, it’s been a run of seven losses in the last nine Test matches, and with the manner of those defeats, I think it was about the right time,” the former captain said.
