Former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower has ruled himself out of the race for England’s next men’s Test head coach. Flower said on Friday (July 17) that he was ‘really comfortable’ with his current job as the head coach of the IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and would want to stick with it.
The news would come as a huge boost for RCB. Flower has played a huge role in revolutionising the team, leading them to back-to-back titles in 2025 and 2026. For England, they’d need to pivot to new targets after trying to convince Flower to join for a week since sacking Brendon McCullum.
“The bottom line for me is that I’m very happy in the work that I’m doing at the moment. I work for a couple of really good organisations. I’ve got really good teams around me and good people around me and I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing at the moment,” Flower, who’s also the coach of London Spirit in the Hundred, said during the franchise’s media day on Friday.
Several former English players had vouched for Flower since the news broke, backing his ‘disciplinarian’ tactics as an upgrade on McCullum.
Previously, Flower worked with England for over a decade. He joined as Peter Moores’ assistant in 2007 before becoming full-time team director in 2009.
Under his leadership, England regained the Ashes in 2009, won their first ICC title at the 2010 World Twenty20, secured a historic 2010-11 Ashes triumph in Australia, climbed to No. 1 in the Test rankings in 2011, beat India 4-0, and retained the Ashes at home in 2013. His tenure ended after England’s 5-0 Ashes defeat in Australia in 2013-14, although he continued working with the ECB in other roles.
