Tim Southee's Ashes Dilemma: Coaching England Amid ILT20 Challenges

England have added former New Zealand fast bowler Southee to their men's team coaching staff as a specialist skills consultant on a short-term basis across all formats in May this year.

Chances of Southee being on England's coaching staff for Australia are complicated due to his involvement in the ILT20, which begins on December 2, earlier than usual to avoid a clash with February's T20 World Cup, according to a BBC report.

Speaking after England's team for the first of three T20I matches against New Zealand was named, Southee said of his availability, "We're still working through that at the moment. We'll see what happens over the next little while."

This weekend marks Southee's first time competing against his own country, when the three-match T20I series gets underway with the first game in Christchurch on Saturday. But he is enjoying reuniting with Brendon McCullum, his former New Zealand captain and now England's head coach.

"It will be strange but I'm looking forward to it. I've enjoyed playing under Brendon as a player, and to be sharing a dressing room again with him in a different capacity has been really enjoyable. It was too good not to take up."

Speaking on fast bowler Stuart Broad's suggestion that the current Australian team is the "worst team since 2010", Southee was in little doubt about what he expects from the five-match Ashes series, starting in Perth next month.

"I don't think there's ever a bad Australian cricket team. Our focus is firmly on what we're trying to do. I think the quality of (England's) side that's going out to Australia is brilliant. It should be an absolute cracker, that series. Not only (are) English and Australian people looking forward to it, I think the whole cricket world is," he said.

- IANS