Flower rules himself out of England return

He was one of the favourites to replace departing McCullum

LONDON:

Andy Flower has ruled himself out of contention for the vacant England test head coach position, saying he is happy in franchise cricket and intends ​to remain in his current role.

The former Zimbabwe captain, who coached England ‌from 2009 to 2014, had been considered among the favourites to succeed Brendon McCullum, who was sacked earlier this month after a run of poor results and amid continued scrutiny of the ​team's culture.

Flower, who coaches Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League ​and London Spirit in The Hundred, said he had spoken with ⁠the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and managing director Rob Key about the ​role.

“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," Flower told reporters at Lord's on Friday during London Spirit's media day.

"I work for a ​couple of really good organisations, I’ve got really good teams around me, really ​good people around me. I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing at the moment."

As England coach, ‌Flower ⁠oversaw home and away Ashes victories as well as a test series win in India. Since leaving the national side, he has enjoyed considerable success in franchise cricket, most recently leading RCB to back-to-back IPL titles.

“I’ve worked with England before and ​I had an amazing ​time when I ⁠had the privilege to be England head coach... and it would be a privilege for me or anyone else to be ​the Test coach," he said.

“But for me at this time, ​I’m really ⁠comfortable with what I’m doing. I’m going to stick with doing that.”

McCullum was appointed in 2022 shortly after Ben Stokes became test captain and oversaw the aggressive style ⁠of ​cricket dubbed "Bazball". England lost 20 of their 49 tests ​under the New Zealander, including seven of their last nine, and failed to win a five-test series ​against either Australia or India.