The former Australia captain has worked in coaching roles in franchise cricket but was not keen on committing to a full-time position. Ponting is in England in a media capacity, and made the revelation in an interview with Guerilla Cricket
Ricky Ponting has confirmed he turned down the opportunity to coach England before Brendon McCullum was offered the role.
The former Australia captain has worked in coaching roles in franchise cricket but was not keen on committing to a full-time position.
Ponting is in England in a media capacity for the Ashes, and made the revelation in an interview with Guerilla Cricket. It had previously been reported by the Daily Mail in April 2022.
Ricky Ponting says he turned down the England head coach job [Getty Images]
"I actually got asked before Brendon took the job, there you go. I did take some calls from Robert Key as soon as he took over that job," he said.
"But I'm just not ready for a full-time international coaching job, where I'm at in my life.
“Having travelled as much as I have, with young kids now I just don’t want to be away as much as I was.
"When you've got kids that are in school, moving them around, that's not what I want to do."
The contrast between what a Ponting England setup would have looked like and the version which has been created by McCullum is likely to have been stark.
Ponting told Guerilla Cricket he did not want to commit to a full-time role [Getty Images]
England's aggressive approach has entertained, confused and bemused supporters at various points over the course of the past year.
Ponting said after the first-Test loss to Australia at Edgbaston: "Is their style of play going to hold up in an Ashes series? Do they keep going, or do they declare at 393 on day one?
"By no means am I saying England's methods are wrong. I have loved watching them play. But it goes to show that there is more than one way to skin a cat. This is a long game, and Australia's method has stood up and worked."
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