England To Swing For Moody?

So, speculation is rife over who will fill the void left in the wake of Peter Moores' forced departure as England coach, albeit after the Windies tour. Who are the main contenders? And who would be the right man to pick to take England forward?

Tom Moody

Originally thought to be a main candidate for the job when Peter Moores was appointed, Tom Moody has international experience from his days with Sri Lanka and is an innovative coach who would probably work well with new captain Strauss.

The issue is that he has a young family who are now settled with him in Western Australia. Plus, with the snub of not even being approached for the job last time around, would he be willing to uproot his family and move back around the world again to coach a team currently in turmoil?

Andy Flower

Currently England's batting coach, Andy Flower has a wealth of experience from his time as an international cricketer for Zimbabwe and his coaching roles at Essex CCC. Some feel it might be wiser to leave Andy in his current role however, otherwise filling one vacancy just leaves another in its wake. He is also relatively fresh to his role assisting the batsmen and needs more time to mature in this role first.

Duncan Fletcher

Would England really consider moving forwards by turning back to their most successful recent coach? It is a hot topic, but considering Strauss last captained England under the Fletcher regime and very successfully at that, there was clearly a good working relationship there.

Having just taken a role at Hampshire and having been snubbed by England in favour of Moores however, it would take some serious temptation to bring Fletcher back to the England fold.

Ashley Giles

Part of the England selection panel and Warwickshire's coach, Giles' name has been suggested for the role. Possibly a bit inexperienced for the position at this stage and not the strongest character on or off the field would suggest that he is some way down the pecking order for the job.

Graham Ford

A former coach of the South African team and currently at the helm of Kent CCC, Ford has made it known that he would like to be considered for the job. However, he lost his job with the Proteas due to series defeats home and away to Australia. Add to that he doesn't seem to be the strongest character in world cricket, is this really the man to take England forward to Ashes glory and more?

Darren Lehmann

A former Australian batsman and a man who had a distinguised county career at Yorkshire, Lehmann is currently coaching Australia's academy side. He is tipped as a future coach of the senior team - would getting an Australian coach in before the Ashes play into the hands of the English, in the shape of Lehmann or Moody?

A strong character with a good head for the game, some see Lehmann as Moody's main competition for the job at this stage.