I wouldn’t ever consider coaching England: Ricky Ponting

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting might be a coach in demand, but the 49-year-old asserted that he ‘wouldn’t ever’ consider coaching England, making it clear that he has no interest in throwing his name in the hat for the position of England’s white-ball coach that’s currently vacant.

The England Men’s side is currently without a head coach, with Matthew Mott stepping down from his role in July 2024 on the back of a disappointing 18 months for the side. The likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Andrew Flintoff and Eoin Morgan have all reportedly been considered by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as potential candidates to replace Mott.

READ: Matthew Mott in England: an underwhelming stint despite T20WC triumph

Ponting, who coached Washington Freedom to the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024 title, would certainly have been on the board’s radar, but the former Aussie skipper has ruled himself out.

"No, I wouldn't ever consider doing that, actually," Ponting told the ICC website

"I'm on record saying that international jobs for me right now are not really where my life is at as there's just so much more time taken up with an international job.

“I've got other commitments as well, with my TV work and things that I do and also trying to balance that out with having a decent amount of home time, which I haven't had much of the last couple of years anyway.”

While making it clear that the sentiment of coaching England, being an Australian, does not sit well with him, Ponting asserted that he currently has ‘enough on his plate’ and therefore has no interest in taking up a coaching gig in international cricket.

"Coaching other international teams is one thing, coaching England for an Australian is probably something slightly different, but right now, there's sort of enough on my plate as I've got a bit more coming up in the next couple of months in the UK,” Ponting said.

“Australia's got some white-ball stuff coming up over there, which I'll go and commentate, so no, right now, if my name was on the list, they can actually take it off."

In July 2024, Ponting parted ways with the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after serving as the head coach of the side for seven seasons.

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