The door appears wide open for Justin Langer to make his way into the England team, with interim English cricket boss and former skipper Andrew Strauss endorsing the exiled Australian coach.
Langer walked away from his role as the Australian coach yesterday, after being offered just a six-month contract, with a coaching change to follow on after that, regardless of results.
With Langer coming off a 4-0 Ashes series win with the Australians, it appears England Cricket is now closely watching his next move.
The timing for a shock move up north for Langer couldn’t be more convenient after Chris Silverwood stepped down earlier in the week following England’s Ashes humiliation.
LIVE UPDATES: Athletes fume over ‘unreasonable’ hotels
READ MORE: ‘Star-struck’ Aussie falls short after epic finish
READ MORE: The big questions hanging over Australian cricket
Strauss, who recently became the temporary director of English cricket in the wake of Ashley Giles’ departure, lauded Langer’s success with the Australian team.
“I know him well and on the surface, he’s done a very good job with that Australian cricket team, so I wouldn’t rule him out (for the coaching job),” Strauss said.
Meanwhile, another former England captain in Nasser Hussain also endorsed Langer.
Hussain said Langer would be the perfect candidate to give the current squad a “kick up the backside”.
“Langer would be very good for two reasons,” Hussain told Sky Sports News.
“He has just played against England, so knows exactly where their strengths and weakness lie, as he’s literally been there and seen it.
“He’s also the type of character England need at the moment.
“They do need that micromanagement and they do need that kick up the backside.
“They are not performing, and they’ve got to get results going, so Langer would be a good candidate.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!