Collier: Coach will be appointed soon

ECB chief executive David Collier says they are taking their time in selecting the new England head coach, and should have an answer for the players and fans before the start of the international season.

ECB chief executive David Collier says they are taking their time in selecting the new England head coach, and should have an answer for the players and fans before the start of the international season.

With Andy flower's resignation after the Ashes in Australia, England have been without a head coach for months, with limited-overs coach Ashley Giles taking charge of the squad in the interim.

He was thought to be the front runner for the job, but recent dire results have seen him fall out of favour in the media, with Peter Moores the new favourite. Trevor Bayliss and Mike Newell are also on the short-list.

Collier told the BBC of the search's progress: "We will be interviewing this month and hopefully have an appointment before the start of the season (9 May).

"Paul Downton and the people we've used to help recruit the coach have searched the world. It's a fact there are a limited number of coaches around the world at this present time.

"You've only got to look at the media speculation of who might or might not be on lists to see that there are not too many names on that.

"But we're very satisfied that the top people are applying and I know Paul is being very, very diligent in going through all of that list."

When asked about Giles, thought to be the front-runner until recently, Collier said: "It's very unfair to talk about one individual candidate when there will be four or five people interviewed."

Collier then went on to say that the player side of things was equally critical right now, with the new county season of vital importance in terms of finding players to replace Kevin Pietersen and Graeme Swann.

He added: "I can't remember in my time the opening month of the county season being so critical. There are a lot of players with a lot to prove and a lot of places up for grabs.

"Somebody has the opportunity to earn their place in the England side and that is very good thing for county cricket."

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