Andy Flower rules himself out of England Test coaching job to focus on RCB and London Spirit

Former England coach Andy Flower has ruled himself out of succeeding Brendon McCullum as the national Test coach, confirming he will remain with IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru and London Spirit in The Hundred

London: Royal Challengers Coach Andy Flower has ruled himself out of the race for becoming the next head coach of the England national team after Brendon McCullum’s exit, saying he is happy with his current coaching stint with the Indian Premier League franchise RCB and The Hundred team London Spirit.

“The bottom line for me is that I’m very happy in the work that I’m doing at the moment… I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing, I have [ruled myself out], yes,” Flower said at Spirit’s media day according to Cricinfo.

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Flower was considered among the frontrunners to replace McCullum. He previously coached England between 2009 and 2014, winning home and away Ashes series as well as a tour to India. After England’s stint, Flower has gone on to become one of the most successful coaches in franchise cricket as he won back-to-back titles with RCB.

Flower also revealed that he has conveyed his decision not to become Test coach to the England cricket board managing director Rob Key.

“Yes, obviously that is a topic that’s being talked about at the moment. Yes, I have spoken with the ECB. We’re all aware of the vacancy for the head coach job of the England national team, and I have spoken with Rob [Key] and the ECB on that topic. The bottom line for me is that I’m very happy in the work that I’m doing at the moment. I work for a couple of really good organisations. I’ve got really good teams around me and good people around me, and I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing at the moment,” he said.

“I’ve worked with England before and I had an amazing time when I had the privilege to be England head coach and represent England as one of their leaders a number of years ago, and I remember those years really fondly, and it would be a privilege for me or anyone else to be the Test coach, but for me at this time, I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing. I’m going to stick with doing that,” he added

The decision comes as another setback for the ECB, which has been forced into a major rebuild following Ben Stokes’ retirement from international cricket and McCullum’s exit as Test coach after England’s 2-1 home series defeat to New Zealand. However, the New Zealander is still serving as the white-ball coach of the team.