Former England batsman and the current managing director of the men’s cricket team Rob Key has tipped Andrew Flintoff to become their next coach. In an interview with The Telegraph, Key said it would be ‘stupid’ not to consider Key for the position, whenever the spot is vacant again.
The 46-year-old Flintoff is on a comeback trail after his horrific crash last year, and is set to travel with the English team as a part of the support staff for the T20 World Cup. “Without question, I think he would be an excellent head coach,” Key said, adding, “Who knows where he ends up in the future.
“He will be a worthy candidate going forward. When that time comes and whoever is in this job, and it might be outside of my time, they would be stupid not to look at him.”
Andrew Flintoff, the Future England Coach
Currently, the England cricket team has two coaches — Brendon McCullum for the Test team and, Matthew Mott for the limited-overs formats. The former will be with the side till 2025/26, till his contract ends. “He has helped us immensely,” Key said.
“Just having someone who knows what it is like to struggle and come out the other end is so relatable to those players. When they have had a bad day he can explain it. He is one of those people when he talks to you he is working you out.
“He has high emotional intelligence so he understands when you need a bit of an arm around your shoulder or blunt honesty. Those are the skills that make a great leader. Leadership is about making the people around you feel better and he is someone who is like that. He has a lot to offer.
Why Flintoff Fits the Bill
“Flintoff is a leader like [Ben] Stokes. He is not going to need to learn leadership qualities. He has those in abundance which is what you need at the top level. He has that empathy that Stokes has as well as being a great player.
“He knows what it is like to nick off and to struggle. All these things as a leader, your interactions with people, mean you can impact people in a positive or negative way with everything you do. Fred is aware of that, and not many are aware of that, and he understands how to use that gift with people. “
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