Andrew Strauss opens door for Paul Collingwood to be England head coach

The assistant has stepped up to replace Chris Silverwood for next month’s tour of the West Indies

Paul Collingwood will lead England in the forthcoming red-ball series in the Caribbean (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Archive)

Andrew Strauss believes Paul Collingwood is the right character to start England’s “red-ball reset” and has opened the door for the interim head coach to hold a similar post in the future.

Three senior members of staff have lost their jobs and eight players, including James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been dropped for next month’s tour of the West Indies as the fall-out from England’s disastrous Ashes performance continues.

Collingwood was announced as interim replacement for Chris Silverwood on Monday, after he also deputised for the former Essex head coach during the T20 series in the Caribbean last month.

While the England and Wales Cricket Board are expected to hire a more experienced name to permanently replace Silverwood by the summer, were the head coach position be split into two roles, former limited-overs captain Collingwood could be in line for the white-ball vacancy.

Strauss said: “For that tour of the West Indies, it’s a five-week tour, it feels like there’s a distinct advantage of having someone who has been part of that set-up already, with an established relationship with players and other support staff.

“Paul obviously deputised for Chris Silverwood out in the West Indies with the T20 team and had done a very good job out there by all accounts.

“He is definitely one we should have an eye on moving forward for a head coach role.

He is definitely one we should have an eye on moving forward for a head coach role.

Sir Andrew Strauss on Paul Collingwood

“It’s an opportunity for him to understand what that job entails and to start this process with the red-ball reset as well. He’s the right sort of character to do that.

“He’s enthusiastic, he’s got bundles of energy and is very clear on how he sees the England Test team playing, so it’s a great opportunity for him.”

Events in Australia over the weekend have pushed Justin Langer high up the pecking order of candidates who could permanently replace Silverwood.

Langer resigned from his head coach role with Cricket Australia despite inflicting a 4-0 win over England months after T20 World Cup success.

But Strauss insisted his job over the coming months is merely to appoint Ashley Giles’ successor after he resigned from his managing director of England men’s cricket position last week.

“That’s not my decision,” Strauss said on Langer during his broadcast interviews.

“I have to help the ECB recruit the director of cricket and they will be thinking about the candidates for the coaching position.”