Proteas coach chills while coaching merry-go-round spins furiously

While Shukri Conrad weighs up how to get the right balance for a Proteas starting team against Australia, the coaching merry-go-round in cricket has gone into full spin, with two of the sport’s biggest entities needing new mentors.

The end of “Bazball” was confirmed on Sunday with Brendon McCullum sacked as Test coach of England. A day later the Chennai Super Kings franchise, which includes the Johannesburg team in the SA20 tournament, parted ways with another New Zealander, Stephen Fleming, who’d overseen various teams under their umbrella.

As a result, several coaches are now on notice. Andy Flower has emerged as the favourite to take over a job in which he was extremely successful previously, as England look for a reset.

The Super Kings, once the most dominant force in the IPL, have seen their hold on that tournament weaken recently, a gap that has been filled by Flower’s Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Fleming was a great supporter of the SA20, speaking in glowing terms about why it would have a positive effect on South African cricket, not just in the quality seen on the field but also in how it had also re-energised support for the game locally.

Whatever decision the Super Kings hierarchy make will be interesting. Do they follow the same model as with Fleming — who oversaw the preparation of the teams in leagues in India, South Africa and the US — or follow the Mumbai Indians’ example and have different coaches for the various leagues in which it owns teams?

That Flower should be viewed as a frontrunner is certainly ironic. He oversaw one of the most successful periods in English history, winning the Ashes twice and the T20 World Cup in 2010.

The Zimbabwean was a tough disciplinarian, which rubbed some players, most notably Kevin Pietersen, the wrong way.

In the “Bazball” era it was the more laidback approach of McCullum that was celebrated, especially in the first 18 months of his tenure. Recently that environment has been described as too loose, and certainly some of the decisions around preparation for series — most notably last year’s Ashes — and then the off-field troubles have been chaotic.

It would appear that the England Cricket Board (ECB) want a firmer hand over the Test side, and Flower has shown that he remains one of the best coaches in the sport, having successfully led the Royal Challengers Bangalore to the past two IPL championships.

Those close to him claim he has also softened in his dealings with players, and given the rebuild that has to take place with England’s Test side, it would seem an ideal appointment. The small matter of the IPL — and constant talks of that tournament’s expansion — mean the ECB will have to be flexible in how it packages a deal for Flower.

It certainly raises the stakes for England’s tour to South Africa later this year. Already tantalising — regardless of context — this new leaf the English are turning will have some important lines written in the three Tests against the Proteas.

The Ashes will always dominate the discourse, but it is worth recalling that the seeds for the infamous 2005 series win were planted in South Africa, six months earlier, when Michael Vaughan’s team won in this country.

Conrad has already started plotting for a busy home season and will be paying close attention to the series between England and Pakistan at the end of August.

By then he will also be sifting through options for the series with Australia in October. Does he play one or two spinners for the first match in Durban? Is it necessary to have both Kyle Verreynne and Ryan Rickelton in the same starting team when both can keep, and leaving one out might create space for another batter?

The South Africa A tour to England earlier this year — which Conrad was present for — also showed there were players ready to step into the Proteas team. “On the batting front Jordan Hermann, Marques Ackerman, Zubayr Hamza and Matty Breetzke are guys that have dominated at all the levels (provincial and A-side), and they are ready to step up to Test cricket when the need arises,” said Conrad.

There isn’t as much depth with the bowling, but older heads, including Dane Paterson, who had an outstanding tour with the A-side, and Ottneil Baartman, leave Conrad feeling relaxed. “Don’t rule Baartman out of Test cricket; especially in places such as [Gqeberha] and Centurion, there are no concerns. I don’t wish I had more options.”

England can only look on with envy.