Darren Lehmann revealed he has not been contacted about becoming England’s next Test head coach, before endorsing fellow Australian Justin Langer for the vacant position.
Langer now appears to be the frontrunner after Brendon McCullum’s sacking last week, with Andy Flower ruling out a return to a post he held from 2009 to 2014 because of his franchise commitments with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League and London Spirit in The Hundred.
Northamptonshire coach Lehmann presided over Australia’s 5-0 Ashes whitewash win in 2013-14 before ending a five-year role in 2018 over the ball tampering scandal in South Africa, despite being cleared of any involvement.
But asked whether he would consider crossing the Ashes divide, Lehmann told Sky Sports: “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.”
Langer succeeded Lehmann as Australia coach and the former left-handed opener oversaw Ashes retention in 2019 following a drawn series in England before a 4-0 triumph in the Covid-impacted return Down Under in 2021-22.
He resigned in acrimonious circumstances in February 2022, just a few weeks after the comprehensive win over England, amid claims he fell out with senior players.
While he has been heavily linked with England, Langer would have an identical conundrum to Flower as he holds posts with Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL and Manchester Super Giants in The Hundred.
If he is approached, the 55-year-old would have to decide whether to reject England, end his franchise involvement or combine the roles.
Darren Lehmann is currently the coach of Northamptonshire in the County Championship
Lehmann, speaking during Northamptonshire’s Vitality Blast semi-final win over Somerset, added: “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.”
Harry Brook is keen to see the situation resolved before the three-match Test series with Pakistan gets under way in a month’s time, live on Sky Sports from Wednesday August 19.
“You’d like to hope that there’d be a test coach in place for the Pakistan series, but that decision isn’t up to me,” said the England ODI captain, speaking to Sky Sports News.
“It’s up to the hierarchy and whatever they decide to do going into that series. I’m fully behind whoever they pick, and hopefully it’s the right decision.”
