Reports : England contemplates to appoint Gary Kirsten as Trevor Bayliss successor

Reports : England contemplates to appoint Gary Kirsten as Trevor Bayliss successor

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Former India coach Gary Kirsten has emerged as the front-runner for the position of England head coach after Trevor Bayliss' contract ended with Ashes. England director of cricket Ashley Giles will formally begin the process of hiring a new head coach this week and Kirsten might get the preference.

Trevor Bayliss was at the helm of the affairs when England won their maiden World Cup in July this year, but he decided against the renewal of the contract and stepped down from his role after the Ashes series against Australia which England drew 2-2. While England are slated to take on New Zealand earlier next month, a new appointment was on the way and England director of cricket Ashley Giles will formally begin the process of hiring a new head coach this week.

It has been reported by The Telegraph that Kirsten was keen on coaching the England one-day side initially but the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will try to convince him for a full-time head coach's job. Last week, the former English spinner Giles reiterated that he will appoint one head coach across all formats believing splitting the role between one-day and Test cricket does not work, as he knew from his previous experiences. Giles was England’s one-day coach between 2012 to 2014 but clashes with Test coach Andy Flower made the split role unworkable.

England are even ready to tempt Kirsten by offering him time off and appointing two assistant coaches who can take charge of Test or one-day series when the South African needs a break. It would also give valuable experience for a young English coach to lead the team in the absence of the head coach and put them in prime position when the job is available in the future, something that might lure Kirsten.

Earlier, England guided India to the 2011 World Cup win while working with some of the biggest names in cricket such as MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar while his tenure with South Africa saw the team reaching the No 1 position in the Test rankings. In South Africa, the localite had to work with the likes of Graeme Smith, AB De Villiers and Jacques Kallis; all among the finest Test cricketers of their generation.

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