Kirsten rules out competing for England coach job due to 'personal reasons'

Former South African coach Gary Kirsten has ruled himself out of consideration for the vacant job of England team director because of personal reasons.

Kirsten had been tipped by many as a potential replacement for Andy Flower, who resigned last week to allow England to 'rebuild' after their disastrous tour of Australia, where they lost the Test series 5-0.

According to Sport24, although the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are said to be looking for someone who can lead the team in all three formats of the game, but former batsman Kirsten, who left his role as South Africa coach last year, said his personal situation meant he could not be the man for the job.

Stating that it would have been a great challenge as cricket is a high-profile sport, Kirsten said that he has always remained amazed at England's fan following whenever he had toured the country, adding that he would have regarded any job like that as a privilege.

However, Kirsten said that he gave up the South Africa job as he wanted to spend more time with a young family, adding that although he loves coaching and being with an international team, but the demands of the game does not suit where he wants to be now.

Kirsten praised for the job done by Zimbabwean Flower, saying that he believes Flower over many years did an exceptional job, adding that he has often wondered whether he could go in with his coaching philosophies and thinking that it could work within that environment.

Limited-overs coach Ashley Giles is another leading contender for the job, although he fared little better in Australia as the team slipped to 4-1 and 3-0 defeats in the one-day and Twenty20 series which followed the Ashes, the report added.