After KP's appointment, England draft in Jonathan Trott as Flintoff's successor for Lions

Hours after announcing Kevin Pietersen’s shocking return to their white-ball set-up as specialist mentor, England revealed his former teammate and Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott as the new interim coach for the England Lions. Trott, who leads the race to succeed England great Andrew Flintoff in this role permanently, will coach the Lions’ squad against Sri Lanka in two T20 matches scheduled later this month.

After Trott left his role with Afghanistan Cricket following the T20 World Cup early this year, he emerged as the frontrunner to replace Flintoff at the Lions – who joined BBL side Sydney Thunder as their head coach for the upcoming season.

At the Lions, Trott will act as head coach for the short shadow series against Sri Lanka, which will serve as preparatory matches for the forthcoming three ODIs and a T20I series between the two teams. Trott will have his former international mates, including Ravi Bopara and Graeme Swann, as well as ECB pace-bowling lead Troy Cooley and fielding specialist Carl Hopkinson in the backroom staff.

Meanwhile, as Afghanistan’s head coach, Trott remained in charge for four years, overseeing several monumental achievements for the Asian team. Under his leadership, Afghanistan shocked New Zealand and Australia to reach the semifinals of a T20 World Cup in 2024 for the first time. He also guided them to famous wins over ODI heavyweights like Sri Lanka, England and Pakistan during the 2023 edition of the 50-over World Cup. For the record, Trott has also coached several teams in different franchise leagues and remains in line to replace Brendon McCullum as England’s future white-ball coach.

T20I regulars in Lions’ squad

England named a potent 20-man squad for the two Lions matches, including six players from England’s T20I squad for the Sri Lanka series: Tom Banton, Will Jacks, James Coles, Aneurin Donald, Jamie Overton and Saqib Mahmood, while Henry Crocombe, who is only part of England's ODI squad, is also involved.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka also named their squad for the England series last week, with Charith Asalanka set to lead the side in Kusal Mendis’ absence.

England Lions Squad vs Sri Lanka -

Tom Banton, Jafer Chohan, James Coles, Mason Crane, Henry Crocombe, Aneurin Donald, Caleb Falconer, Tom Hartley, Eddie Jack, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Ben Mayes, Ben McKinney, Joe Moores, Jamie Overton, Matthew Revis, James Sales, Ollie Sykes, Paul Walter and Luke Wood

Fixtures: September 11 - 1st T20 (Chelmsford, floodlit), September 13 - 2nd T20 (Beckenham).