Andy Flower rules himself out of England Test coach vacancy

LONDON: Legendary Zimbabwe cricketer and established coach Andy Flower on Friday ruled himself out of contention for the vacancy as England men's cricket team's Test head coach.

Flower, who was seen as the frontrunner to replace New Zealand's Brendon McCullum in the role, is currently associated with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and London Spirit at the Hundred, and the 58-year-old emphasised he was comfortable working with the two "really good" teams.

"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," Flower said at Spirit's media day. "I have [ruled myself out], yes."

Flower, who previously coached England between 2009 and 2014 and helped the Three Lions win the home and away Ashes series as well as a tour to India during his tenure, confirmed he had several conversations with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), including its 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," Flower affirmed.

"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 added.

Recalling his previous experience working with England, Andy Flower shared that he had "an amazing time" serving as their head coach and asserted that it would be a privilege for him to be their Test coach but reiterated his containment with current allegiances with the RCB and the Spirit.

"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," Flower continued.

"But for me at this time, I'm really comfortable with what I'm doing. I'm going to stick with doing that."