Alec Stewart has been installed as the 2/1 favourite to succeed Chris Silverwood as the England men's cricket team's head coach.
Former England captain Stewart has helped nurture the talents of several current players in the international set-up, including Rory Burns and Ollie Pope, during his time as director of cricket at Surrey.
Stewart has emerged as one of the leading candidates to replace the outgoing Silverwood on an interim basis in recent days with his knowledge of players on the county circuit and work as a coach with batters at the Kia Oval key points in his favour.
Under his watch, Surrey won the County Championship in 2018.
- 2/1 Alec Stewart
- 4/1 Gary Kirsten
- 6/1 Paul Collingwood
- 7/1 Justin Langer
- 8/1 Jason Gillespie, Ricky Ponting
- 9/1 Jonathan Trott
- 10/1 Mickey Arthur
- 14/1 Marcus Trescothick, Nasser Hussain
- 16/1 Ian Bell, Paul Farbrace
- 20/1 Peter Moores
- 25/1 Graham Thorpe, Michael Atherton
Odds correct 2030 GMT (03/02/22)
Former South Africa batter Gary Kirsten is second favourite in the betting and has a compelling coaching CV.
He was at the helm as the Proteas reached the top of the world Test rankings in 2012, a year after guiding India to a coveted World Cup crown.
Kirsten missed out the last time the England job was up for grabs after botching the interview and being leapfrogged by Silverwood but has already indicated an interest in coming back to the table, if red and white-ball coaching duties were split.
Also in the running is Paul Collingwood, who led England to their first ever global trophy at the 2010 World Twenty20 and has been assistant, alongside Graham Thorpe, since Silverwood assumed power in 2019.
But with England having their fingers burned by promoting from within in Silverwood, they are unlikely to do so again this soon.
The three favourites for the role are followed by a trio of Australians – Jason Gillespie, Justin Langer and, perhaps most intriguingly, Ricky Ponting.
England have shown flexibility around coaching appointments, as evidenced when they appointed Australia’s Trevor Bayliss to transform their white-ball fortunes but surely turning to Ponting would be a step too far.
His CV is not in doubt: one of Australia’s greatest captains, Ponting won 48 out of 77 Tests and the 2003 and 2007 World Cups while he is renowned for his shrewd thinking.
But the Delhi Capitals coach is one of England’s biggest antagonists – remember the 2005 Ashes? – and has been highly critical of Joe Root’s captaincy in his role as a pundit recently.
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