After being named as a stand-in by Andrew Strauss, the ECB’s temporary managing director of men’s cricket, Paul Collingwood will be England‘s head coach for their Test series against the West Indies next month.

After just over two years as head coach, Chris Silverwood was fired last week, paying the price for England’s latest hammering in an away Ashes series. Following the 4-0 series loss, Ashley Giles was fired as managing director.

Also read: ‘Dream come true moment to receive cap from Virat Kohli bhaiya’: Deepak Hooda

Collingwood, who joined the England team as an assistant coach in late 2019 after several years as a consultant, took over as head coach when Silverwood was unavailable for an ODI series against Ireland in 2020 and recently oversaw a 3-2 loss to the West Indies in a T20I series in Barbados.

He’s been on vacation in Barbados and will join the Test squad when they arrive in Antigua on February 25. On March 1, England will play a four-day warm-up match at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, their first since the controversial Stanford 20/20 for $20 million in 2008, ahead of the first Test at North Sound on March 8.

Also read: Couldn’t have missed his debut: Irfan Pathan watches Deepak Hooda’s knock while stuck in traffic

The ECB is likely to name the squad for the tour on Tuesday, with Alex Lees, James Bracey, and Josh Bohannon among those vying to improve England’s batting after failing to hit 300 in five Ashes Tests.

Last week, Strauss, who is on the interim selection panel with Collingwood and national scout James Taylor, declared that Joe Root will remain captain, maintaining that he was “100% the right person to take this team forward.”

“I am genuinely excited to be leading the Test team for the tour of the Caribbean,” Collingwood said. “I can’t wait to get started. Having a challenging Test series against the West Indies straight off the back of the Ashes disappointment gives us a chance from now to reset and rebuild.”

“Playing Test matches for England is the highest accolade in the game. My objective is to give players clarity, direction and encouragement for them to start building something special,” he added.

Also read: IND vs WI: Gavaskar issues Kohli huge warning after poor outing in 1st ODI

He continued, “I have spoken to Joe Root and Ben Stokes, and both are excited and passionate to take the team forward in this new cycle. Although they know it won’t be easy, they have the desire and bravery to do things differently to ensure the team can prosper. We have an opportunity to get back on track.”

Collingwood might be a full-time candidate for the position of England’s head coach. His lack of experience in a similar post at the county or franchise level works against him, especially after the experiment to elevate Silverwood from within backfired, but if the positions are split, as Strauss indicated last week, he will be a good candidate for white-ball coach.

Collingwood was the first England men’s captain to win an ICC trophy, the World T20 in 2010, and has worked closely with Eoin Morgan since his retirement from international cricket in 2011.

Also read: West Indies captain Kieron Pollard says toss, batting played big role in loss vs India

He raised eyebrows last month when he claimed that players deserved “medals, not condemnation” for getting it through the Ashes series, but given England’s demanding schedule, his attention on player welfare and mental health should be seen favourably.

Marcus Trescothick, England’s other assistant coach, is expected to join Collingwood’s backroom staff for the Caribbean tour this week, with more appointments to be announced later this week. The visiting party is scheduled to include Richard Dawson, the elite performance pathway coach who guided England to the Under-19 World Cup final.