rahul1117kumar
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The failure of England's football team at this year's European Championships in France shone a harsh light on many areas of the English game but none more so than on coaching. Yes, Roy Hodgson lost his job as manager and Gary Neville, one of the brightest coaching prospects in English football, had his reputation severely dented but, so the arguments go, there is far more at fault than that.
Pick your problem: young English managers struggle for opportunities at club level because the Premier League is filled with foreign managers; the Football Association (FA) doesn't do enough to encourage former players to choose the training pitch instead of the television studio; there are too few coaches at all levels of the game; English candidates for the job of national team manager are few and far between and those that have had the job in the last 20 years have largely failed. We could go on.
Some of those arguments could be levelled at English cricket, too. England does not have an English head coach and two of the three before Australian Trevor Bayliss weren't home-grown either. The one who was, Peter Moores, had two largely unsuccessful stints and there are currently few standout candidates in county cricket. Plenty of former internationals, including three of the last four former Test captains, have chosen the media over coaching.
So it is fair to ask whether the state of home-grown coaching is any better in cricket than in football. Is the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) much vaunted Elite Coach Development Programme doing its job, having yet to develop a successful English Head Coach? Why is the ECB failing to attract some of England's finest players and cricketing minds? Who are the leading candidates to replace Bayliss when he moves on?
Not every former player wants to coach but the ECB are involving as many of those who do in the national set-up. Mark Ramprakash, Graham Thorpe and Paul Collingwood are regularly involved with the senior team, Worcestershire's coach Steve Rhodes travelled with the team in Bangladesh and others, such as former England, Gloucestershire and Surrey seamer Jon Lewis, now bowling coach at Sussex, are gaining valuable experience with the England Lions and Young Lions this winter.
"It's a fantastic opportunity for me to learn and to coach new guys," says Lewis. "I think that is a good thing for a coach to do, coach in new environments, new people, to see if my coaching methods, that I know work quite well at Sussex, work with other guys from other places as well. It is always an interesting challenge for a coach.
"The ECB is a very open organisation. There's a real availability of resource to help you become a better coach. I think you have to ask, hunt it down, because I don't think they will come and knock on your door. You've got to put yourself out there sometimes and for free sometimes, too. But there are always opportunities for you to shadow and talk.
"Kevin Shine, in particular, has been excellent, I've spoken to Andrew Strauss about my coaching and he's been very interested in my development, and Gordon Lord, who runs the coaching pathway, has been a fantastic help for me personally," he adds.
It has been suggested that the Football Association (FA) should involve the likes of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, two members of England's 100 cap club, but appointing coaches who are former players is not a panacea. Coaches have to have the skills to do the job and there are many examples of excellent coaches who had limited professional playing careers - Mike Hesson is doing an excellent job with New Zealand despite never having played at first-class level - yet former players should have a place, passing on their experiences of playing at the highest level and their understanding of the pressures involved.
"The ECB are very open to players who have played international cricket, as well as those who haven't, to becoming better coaches," says Lewis. "I don't think it has to be that you've played international cricket but it is important to have really good role models as coaches. How to be an elite fast-bowler, how to be a competitor, how to be a tactician, how to be your own man on the field, that's my role. I feel that's the strongest part of my coaching."
Assessing the strength of a coaching programme is difficult. There is plenty that is good in the ECB's structure, and bright young coaches like Lewis are proof that it is doing some excellent work, but English cricket should be able to produce an English head coach with the skills and experience to do the job well. Until that time, its success has to be qualified.
So who will that English coach be? An advantage in the hunt for Bayliss' future successor is that, unlike in the Premier League, county cricket is full of home-grown coaches yet, much like the search for the next England football manager, there are few standout candidates at present. England's assistant coach Paul Farbrace is currently the best placed, his time with England and Sri Lanka a clear advantage against others who have had little experience outside county cricket.
The ECB's involvement of young coaches with the England teams is vital to plug this gap. It would also benefit English coaches to venture to the Indian Premier League or Big Bash, gaining the latest insight in to tactics and skills, readying themselves for the highest level. "Of course, I'd be open to working anywhere," admits Lewis. "I'm not sure whether it's just T20 but any elite level cricket you can get involvement with, you are always going to learn as a coach.
"I went up to the Lions camp in October and Graham Thorpe and Paul Collingwood were doing a lot of batting masterclasses. I became a better coach from listening to them talking about batting. Before the One-Day Internationals against Pakistan in the summer, I spent a couple of days shadowing and working with the full international team and it was a fascinating experience to see how that team works and how efficient they are and how well prepared they are. You can learn anywhere."
Lewis' clear inquisitiveness, willingness to search out opportunities and determination to improve is what the ECB are encouraging by involving him and others in the national set-up. These former players have plenty of offer and their knowledge and experience is rightly being tapped in to, and their coaching skills improved, in the hope of developing world-class English coaches.
The FA should follow suit.
The ECB's search for England's next successful English coach - Cricbuzz
Pick your problem: young English managers struggle for opportunities at club level because the Premier League is filled with foreign managers; the Football Association (FA) doesn't do enough to encourage former players to choose the training pitch instead of the television studio; there are too few coaches at all levels of the game; English candidates for the job of national team manager are few and far between and those that have had the job in the last 20 years have largely failed. We could go on.
Some of those arguments could be levelled at English cricket, too. England does not have an English head coach and two of the three before Australian Trevor Bayliss weren't home-grown either. The one who was, Peter Moores, had two largely unsuccessful stints and there are currently few standout candidates in county cricket. Plenty of former internationals, including three of the last four former Test captains, have chosen the media over coaching.
So it is fair to ask whether the state of home-grown coaching is any better in cricket than in football. Is the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) much vaunted Elite Coach Development Programme doing its job, having yet to develop a successful English Head Coach? Why is the ECB failing to attract some of England's finest players and cricketing minds? Who are the leading candidates to replace Bayliss when he moves on?
Not every former player wants to coach but the ECB are involving as many of those who do in the national set-up. Mark Ramprakash, Graham Thorpe and Paul Collingwood are regularly involved with the senior team, Worcestershire's coach Steve Rhodes travelled with the team in Bangladesh and others, such as former England, Gloucestershire and Surrey seamer Jon Lewis, now bowling coach at Sussex, are gaining valuable experience with the England Lions and Young Lions this winter.
"It's a fantastic opportunity for me to learn and to coach new guys," says Lewis. "I think that is a good thing for a coach to do, coach in new environments, new people, to see if my coaching methods, that I know work quite well at Sussex, work with other guys from other places as well. It is always an interesting challenge for a coach.
"The ECB is a very open organisation. There's a real availability of resource to help you become a better coach. I think you have to ask, hunt it down, because I don't think they will come and knock on your door. You've got to put yourself out there sometimes and for free sometimes, too. But there are always opportunities for you to shadow and talk.
"Kevin Shine, in particular, has been excellent, I've spoken to Andrew Strauss about my coaching and he's been very interested in my development, and Gordon Lord, who runs the coaching pathway, has been a fantastic help for me personally," he adds.
It has been suggested that the Football Association (FA) should involve the likes of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, two members of England's 100 cap club, but appointing coaches who are former players is not a panacea. Coaches have to have the skills to do the job and there are many examples of excellent coaches who had limited professional playing careers - Mike Hesson is doing an excellent job with New Zealand despite never having played at first-class level - yet former players should have a place, passing on their experiences of playing at the highest level and their understanding of the pressures involved.
"The ECB are very open to players who have played international cricket, as well as those who haven't, to becoming better coaches," says Lewis. "I don't think it has to be that you've played international cricket but it is important to have really good role models as coaches. How to be an elite fast-bowler, how to be a competitor, how to be a tactician, how to be your own man on the field, that's my role. I feel that's the strongest part of my coaching."
Assessing the strength of a coaching programme is difficult. There is plenty that is good in the ECB's structure, and bright young coaches like Lewis are proof that it is doing some excellent work, but English cricket should be able to produce an English head coach with the skills and experience to do the job well. Until that time, its success has to be qualified.
So who will that English coach be? An advantage in the hunt for Bayliss' future successor is that, unlike in the Premier League, county cricket is full of home-grown coaches yet, much like the search for the next England football manager, there are few standout candidates at present. England's assistant coach Paul Farbrace is currently the best placed, his time with England and Sri Lanka a clear advantage against others who have had little experience outside county cricket.
The ECB's involvement of young coaches with the England teams is vital to plug this gap. It would also benefit English coaches to venture to the Indian Premier League or Big Bash, gaining the latest insight in to tactics and skills, readying themselves for the highest level. "Of course, I'd be open to working anywhere," admits Lewis. "I'm not sure whether it's just T20 but any elite level cricket you can get involvement with, you are always going to learn as a coach.
"I went up to the Lions camp in October and Graham Thorpe and Paul Collingwood were doing a lot of batting masterclasses. I became a better coach from listening to them talking about batting. Before the One-Day Internationals against Pakistan in the summer, I spent a couple of days shadowing and working with the full international team and it was a fascinating experience to see how that team works and how efficient they are and how well prepared they are. You can learn anywhere."
Lewis' clear inquisitiveness, willingness to search out opportunities and determination to improve is what the ECB are encouraging by involving him and others in the national set-up. These former players have plenty of offer and their knowledge and experience is rightly being tapped in to, and their coaching skills improved, in the hope of developing world-class English coaches.
The FA should follow suit.
The ECB's search for England's next successful English coach - Cricbuzz
