Giles is back Coach’s England one-day return
Team director role to be announced next week Return comes four years after sacking as coach
Ashley Giles will be named as Andrew Strauss’s successor as director of the England team early next week – four years after being made redundant by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
The ECB interviewed nine candidates and identified Giles as its main choice, and final negotiations were at an advanced stage yesterday. An announcement is expected on Monday, or earlier if talks advance quickly.
It marks a return to the England set-up for Giles, who was sacked as the coach of the one-day side in the shake-up following the 5-0 Ashes tour whitewash of 2013-14.
Giles has since rebuilt his career, firstly at Lancashire and then as director of sport at his home club, Warwickshire.
He guided Warwickshire to promotion to Division One of the County Championship last season and was always the favourite for the England job, particularly once Alec Stewart decided not to apply.
The ECB spoke to a range of candidates from this country and overseas. Former England captains Mike Atherton and Michael Vaughan were sounded out but did not apply.
Strauss decided to step down at the start of October to spend more time with his family. His wife, Ruth, is being treated for cancer and Strauss took the whole summer off on compassionate leave to be with her.
He will stay at the ECB in a position still to be determined and remains a possible long-term successor to Tom Harrison, the chief executive. Persistent rumours that Harrison, who has kept a very low profile this year, is on the verge of leaving have been denied by the ECB.
Harrison took the lead role in recruiting Strauss’s replacement and it was made clear to candidates they would be working closely with the chief executive, suggesting he will stay in position for the foreseeable future.
Giles will be faced with two major issues in his first year. The first will be replacing Trevor Bayliss, who will stand down as head coach when his contract runs out in September. Secondly, Giles will be forced to make cuts as part of a wide-ranging budget review across all levels of the ECB as it faces up to the spiralling costs of the new Hundred competition.
The cuts are most likely to be felt at the ECB academy in Loughborough and Giles will be expected to conduct yet another review of its operations.
He will also have to take the lead role in the continued negotiations over new central contracts due to come into force in 2020.
Giles was made redundant by the ECB when it decided to combine the Test and one-day coaching positions. Peter Moores was chosen ahead of Giles by Paul Downton, then director of cricket.
Downton felt Giles did not have the coaching experience to lead both sides but predicted that one day he would return to the set-up. It turns out he is back in Downton’s old job rather than as a coach, having dedicated himself to more strategic roles at Lancashire and Warwickshire since his bruising experience with England.
He rejoins a set-up that requires little more than a gentle guiding hand to steady nerves as England approach a World Cup for which they are favourites.
Joe Root has settled in as Test captain and is making good progress rebuilding the team, while Eoin Morgan commands respect for the job he has done with the one-day side.
Giles is a good communicator with the media, has enormous knowledge of county cricket and contacts across the domestic game.