Ricky Ponting, Gary Kirsten Are Top Priorities For England Test Coach After Rob Key's Appointment As Director

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and world cup-winning head coach, Gary Kirsten, are the top priorities for the England Cricket Board (ECB) in their pursuit to find a head coach for the England men’s Test team, a report in The Times has revealed.

After Rob Key was appointed as the Managing Director of men’s cricket for England, his old statements about believing in split captaincy surfaced.

“I would split the coaching. Not because it’s a lot of work but because it’s two very different teams at two different times. The [white-ball] team could do with a facilitator coach who can just keep delivering what they’re doing but challenge them.”

“The Test team needs a completely different style of coach – a driver of culture and environment. The biggest thing is the mentality, which I think has been very poor,” Key had said.

Nasser Hussain fully in line with Ponting’s appointment

Notably, former England captain Nasser Hussain has provided his full backing to the appointment of Ponting, stating that there couldn’t be a better option for the Test team which is in dire straits at the moment.

“For me, there is no finer brain in cricket at the moment than Ricky Ponting, who reads the game so well. The new coach has to be someone the players’ respect; the dressing room has been a bit too nice in recent years.”

“And, my goodness, if the batters in that England team aren’t going to listen to what Ponting has to say about technique, then why are they playing the game?” Hussain mentioned.

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