A look at past overseas coaches of England’s Test cricket team

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The appointment of New Zealander Brendon McCullum as head coach means a return to overseas leadership for England’s Test team.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the previous imports and how they fared in charge.

Duncan Fletcher (Zimbabwe, 1999-2007)

Duncan Fletcher ended England's long quest to regain the Ashes.
Duncan Fletcher ended England’s long quest to regain the Ashes (Rebecca Naden/PA)

Fletcher became England’s first overseas coach when he replaced David Lloyd in the aftermath of a dismal 1999 World Cup.

Together with captain Nasser Hussain he roused the Test side from bottom of the world rankings and was key to installing the central contract system.

Fletcher’s reign culminated in the unforgettable 2005 Ashes – which saw England capture the country’s imagination as they wrestled the urn back from Australia after 18 years.

His magic wore off in 2006-07 when the double blow of a 5-0 whitewash Down Under and a poor World Cup showing saw his time in the role come to an end.

Andy Flower (Zimbabwe, 2009-2014)

Cricket – The Ashes 2013-14 – Third Test – Australia v England – England Press Conference – Intercontinental Hotel
Andy Flower led England with a firm hand (Anthony Devlin/PA)

An elite wicketkeeper and batter during his playing career, Flower initially joined the England set-up as assistant to Peter Moores.

He found himself catapulted into the top job when the latter’s faltering relationship with captain Kevin Pietersen saw both men removed from office.

Flower was a steely authority figure and ran a tough dressing room. His successes were considerable, taking the Test team to number one in the ICC rankings, winning the Ashes away from home in grand style in 2010-11 and even landing the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.

He passed the white-ball role to Ashley Giles in 2012 and stood down as team director in the aftermath of another whitewash Down Under in 2013-14.

Trevor Bayliss (Australia, 2015-2019)

England v India – Specsavers First Test Match – England Nets – Day One – Edgbaston
Trevor Bayliss became the first Australian to cross the Ashes divide (Mike Egerton/PA)

Sir Andrew Strauss was pulling the strings as director of cricket as England decided to look to rivals Australia when the homegrown Moores failed for a second time. Many had tipped Jason Gillespie to be the man to make that leap, but former Sri Lanka coach Bayliss got the nod.

Working closely with deputy Paul Farbrace, he won the Ashes on home soil in his first summer in the job.

But the quest to win the 50-over World Cup dominated his spell at the helm.

England lifted the trophy at Lord’s in a classic final, fair reward for becoming the world’s best white-ball team, but by the time he bowed out the Test side had become a reliably mediocre outfit relying on a handful of star men.

Brendon McCullum

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