‘He’d be a really good coach’ – Darren Lehmann backs former Australia teammate as next England Test coach

Darren Lehmann. (Source:David Rogers/Getty Images)

Northamptonshire head coach Darren Lehmann has backed former Australia teammate Justin Langer as England’s next Test coach. The Three Lions are in search of a new red-ball coach after Brendon McCullum stepped down following their 2-1 series defeat at the hands of New Zealand.

Lehmann claimed that he has not received any communication from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) about becoming their new coach. The 56-year-old has stated that England already have a name in their mind to replace McCullum as the Test coach, given he was removed midway through the international summer.

The former Australia all-rounder also insisted that he is happy with the current role as Northamptonshire coach. He recently guided the Steelbacks to their third T20 Blast title on Saturday, July 18, defeating Hampshire Hawks in the final in Birmingham.

“I’m very happy coaching Northants and I haven’t had any phone calls. You’d certainly listen to it. I’m sure there’s so many applicants. My feeling is they’ve already made up their mind. If you remove someone mid-summer, you’ve got somebody in mind,” Darren Lehmann said on Sky Sports.

Lehmann also backed Langer to do a good job if he is in the reckoning for the England job. The former Australia opener is reportedly one of the names high on the shortlist after Andy Flower rejected the opportunity to take up the role.

“If he (Langer) were to go for it, he’d be a really good coach. Whoever takes it on, they’ve got some really talented players, I see some good players in the county system,” he added.

Langer coached Australia out of the infamous ‘Sandpapergate’ and into becoming one of the best Test sides in the world. He guided the Aussies to retaining the Ashes in England conditions in 2019 before leading them to a 4-0 win on home soil in 2022.

Apart from Langer, other candidates reportedly on England’s shortlist include Jonathan Trott, Stephen Fleming, Richard Dawson and Kumar Sangakkara.

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