​NEW DELHI: Former England captain Nasser Hussain has put forward Andy Flower as the top candidate to replace Brendon McCullum as England’s Test head coach in the wake of the end of the Bazball era. The England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Sunday that McCullum will step down from the Test coaching role after four years at the helm, though he will continue to oversee England’s One-Day International and Twenty20 squads. McCullum’s exit follows England’s 1-4 Ashes defeat in Australia and a troubling run of seven defeats in their last nine Test matches, including a recent home series loss to New Zealand.
Hussain stressed the importance of appointing someone with meticulous attention to detail and argued that Flower fits that bill perfectly. “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 such qualities have been noticeably absent 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.”
Hussain also questioned the ECB’s decision to grant one coach the responsibility for both red-ball and white-ball formats under 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’s strengths are better suited to limited-overs cricket. “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.”
While praising McCullum for his transformative impact on England’s Test side since he took charge in 2022 alongside captain Ben Stokes, Hussain also acknowledged that recent results necessitated a coaching change. “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 added.
Hussain’s endorsement of Flower comes amid growing debate over England’s leadership structure and the appropriate direction for the team after the end of the Bazball era. Flower’s track record, including steering England to the top of the world rankings during his tenure, is often cited as a compelling reason for his candidacy. If Flower were to return in the role, it would mark a significant return to a style of meticulous preparation and strategic planning that many believe could help England recapture consistency in Test cricket. In the meantime, the ECB faces the task of identifying a successor who can balance the demands of red-ball cricket with the evolving landscape of white-ball cricket, and Hussain’s views add a high-profile voice to the ongoing discussion about England’s next long-term Test coach.