England rope in Ashes 2005 series-winning coach Troy Cooley into bowling setup

Troy Cooley appointed as bowling coach for England [Source: X]

After the Ashes 2025–26 series loss, England have begun reworking their backroom staff and have made a significant move by appointing Troy Cooley as the national pace bowling lead.

The Australian previously served as part of England’s coaching setup during the iconic 2005 Ashes, where he mentored a formidable bowling unit featuring Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones, which played a key role in England’s historic series win.

However, Cooley left the England and Wales Cricket Board in December 2005 after his contract was not extended. In a move seen by many as a return to proven expertise, the ECB has now turned back to Troy Cooley to help revive its pace bowling department.

England re-hires Troy Cooley for overall England setup alignment

Cooley’s appointment comes shortly after England brought in Carl Hopkinson as a short-term fielding coach following the catching lapses that plagued the Ashes campaign.

However, Cooley’s return is not directly linked to the 4–1 defeat in Australia. His reappointment has reportedly been under consideration for some time.

In an official ECB statement, it was clarified that Cooley will be responsible for the development and coaching of fast bowlers across the England Men, Lions and Young Lions setups.

While not directly connected, it is worth noting that England went into the Ashes without a specialist fielding coach and dropped 18 chances across the series.

After Hopkinson exited the setup at the end of 2024, head coach Brendon McCullum expanded his role to include England’s white-ball teams alongside the Test side. Hopkinson has now returned as part of the setup for the T20 leg of the Sri Lanka tour and the T20 World Cup, with Harry Brook also praising his impact on the squad.

Troy Cooley’s impressive coaching career

Troy Cooley’s coaching career spans over four decades. He began as a domestic fast bowler for Tasmania before establishing himself as one of the world’s most respected pace bowling coaches.

From 1997 to the early 2000s, he served as a state pathway coach for Cricket Tasmania and worked as an assistant coach at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide. He later joined England from 2003 to 2006 before being appointed Australia’s national bowling coach in May 2006.

Cooley remained with Cricket Australia from 2006 to 2021 and served as head coach of Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane for 11 years from 2010.

Cooley’s stint with India

Following his Australia stint, he worked with the BCCI and Indian cricket setups. In late 2021, he returned briefly as a short-term consultant for England’s pace bowlers. 

During the 2021–22 Ashes in Australia, he later joined the BCCI as fast bowling coach at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Another notable milestone came when he served as bowling coach for the Indian women’s team during the T20 World Cup 2023.

Troy Cooley looks to make solid turnarounds

Now back with England, Cooley’s return is expected to provide a major boost to the country’s pace bowling structure across all levels.

While the duration of his tenure has not yet been confirmed, the appointment is widely seen as a long-term strategic move rather than a short-term fix, aimed at restoring specialist pace bowling excellence with fast bowlers such as Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse forming the core of England’s attack.