Too weak, too stern, too strict, too lax: a brief history of England coaches

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Roll up! Roll up! The hunt is on for a new head coaches for the England men’s cricket teams. Gary Kirsten, Graham Ford, Simon Katich … Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting – heck maybe even that Aussie guy the Spin saw get ejected from Edgbaston in the early noughties for throwing cooking apples into the crowd while dressed as an alpine milkmaid – will no doubt be polishing up their CVs and swotting up on their ECB values as we speak.

They’ll need to clear the diary for the interviews on 9 and 10 May, that’s when it’ll be tracksuits off, suits on and shoulder yokes down for the stroll into Lord’s with their plans for “setting out and then executing short-, medium- and long-term plans for the development of the England team”.

Sheesh. Talk about a heavy load.

The candidates thinking of throwing their peaked cap in the ring for the England gig might want to have a look into the somewhat turbulent history of the role before they do so, the job is the soufflé of the cricketing world, seemingly simple yet difficult to execute, vulnerable to collapse(s) and more often than not ending in disappointment and failure.

Mickey Stewart became the first cricket manager in the mid-80s. Stewart was tasked with the job of bringing “organisation, preparation and discipline” to the England side after years of defeat, ill-discipline and even drug-taking allegations. His tenure lasted six years and is largely deemed a success, despite a fractious relationship with David Gower and the rebel tour of South Africa happening on his watch. Those who played under