Joe Root has admitted he would love to see former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie take the vacant England coaching job.
Gillespie, who is currently in charge at County Championship winners Yorkshire, has been named by new England performance director Andrew Strauss as a possible successor to the sacked Peter Moores.
And Yorkshireman Root, who is set to play a key part in England's batting line-up for the upcoming series against New Zealand and Australia, insisted the 40-year-old would be a shrewd appointment by the ECB.
"I would love to work with [Gillespie] again," Root said. "I think he is brilliant to work with. At Yorkshire he has been fantastic in my development. If he did get it I'm sure he would do a very good job at the highest level too."
Moore's second spell as England coach was brought to an abrupt end by Strauss earlier this month, after a poor World Cup and a drawn Test series against the West Indies. Gillespie's name was immediately mentioned as a possible candidate, along with former Australia team-mate Justin Langer.
The latter ruled himself out of the job on Tuesday by signing a two-year contract extension with Western Australia, and Gillespie has claimed he would need some convincing to leave his current role at Yorkshire.
Root admitted he could not be sure Gillespie would want the job, but said the Australian would make a decision with his friends and family in mind.
"I don't know if he would want it, you'd have to ask him. I've been to Headingley a few times for training sessions but I'm sure he is sick to death of people asking him about it so I tried to avoid talking about that.
"He is going to have to decide with his family and people close around him and I really hope he makes a decision he is comfortable with going forward and I am sure he will do."
English cricket has been recently overshadowed by the decision not to hand former star Kevin Pietersen an international recall, even after the 34-year-old scored an unbeaten 355 for Surrey against Leicestershire earlier this month.
Root, however, insisted that England's current squad would not be distracted by the selection saga ahead of a summer in which they will bid to regain the Ashes from Australia, after surrendering them in such abject fashion Down Under last year.
"As a player you have responsibility to be 100% professional," Root said "I think it [the Pietersen issue] is quite irrelevant if you don't mind me saying so because there is nothing we can do about it.
"Andrew Strauss is employed to make these decisions and as players all we can do is concentrate on putting in strong performances and winning games of cricket."
Root's efforts with the bat were recognised when he picked up the England player of the year award on Monday. Speaking at Lord's, the 24-year-old paid tribute to Moores, under whom he averaged almost 95 in Test cricket.