Chris Silverwood was named England coach on Monday, taking over from Trevor Bayliss and bringing the national team back under the control of a local.
Former South Africa batsman Gary Kirsten was said to be the front-runner for the position but Silverwood emerged as the best candidate after the interview round, his stint as England bowling coach going in his favour.
Silverwood thus became just the second English appointment in the last 20 years after Peter Moores.
It continues a growing trend in world cricket of moving away from star coaching names and going local. It has its benefits since local coaches know the system and the players, plus are more likely to remain with the team for a bigger part of the year than those who fly in.
All major teams now have local coaches. Here we take a look at them.
Ravi Shastri (India)
The former opener has formed a rock-solid partnership with captain Virat Kohli. Despite interest from other more qualified and successful coaches, it was Shastri who continued as India coach after the World Cup. Former Kiwi coach Mike Hesson was a strong candidate for the India coach job but after captain Kohli publicly backed Shastri for the job, there was only going to be one winner.
Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan)
It is safe to say no other official in world cricket has as much power to mould a team as Misbah has. Not only was he on the panel that decided to not extend Mickey Arthur’s tenure in charge, he was made head coach and chief selector last month.
Justin Langer (Australia)
Former opening batsman Langer was asked to repair the battered reputation of the Australian team in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal in 2018. Langer was already an influential name in Australian cricket and was long earmarked as Darren Lehmann’s successor as and when the latter moved on from his position.
Floyd Reifer (West Indies)
West Indies cricket suddenly seams healthy again and one of the reasons behind it is a new management in place that has insisted on hiring local support staff and mending fences with disgruntled players like Kieron Pollard, who is now the limited-overs captain.
Reifer is the interim coach, following the exit of Richard Pybus, and the permanent coach could be either him or former Windies players Desmond Haynes and Phil Simmons.
Gary Stead (New Zealand)
The Kiwis are the masters of maximizing existing resources and producing world-class team leaders. Mike Hesson is considered the foremost tactician in the game and after his exit, the Black Caps went with former player Stead.
The one reason for the Kiwis to rely on local names is that they can’t match the salaries that some of the bigger teams provide.
But there are some exceptions. Bangladesh have appointed South African Russel Domingo, while Sri Lanka are in between two – suspended head coach Chandika Hathurusingha and interim coach Rumesh Ratnayake – and it is unclear who will end up in the role full-time.
