Ashley Giles
Giles under pressure after T20 embarrassment.

Ashley Giles remains the best candidate for the England job, according to Steve Harmison.

Giles took the reins as England's one-day international and Twenty20 coach following Tim Flower's decision to step down from the short format role in 2012 and presided over the dire World Twenty20 campaign that ended in humiliating fashion to Netherlands on Monday.

A disastrous start to 2013 has seen many call for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to revaluate their decision to return to one coach for all formats of the game, reinforced by England's 45 run defeat in Chittagong on Monday.

But former Test international Harmison believes Giles remains the best contender for the head coach role on a permanent basis, pointing to the lack of other realistic candidates available to the England set up.

"Ashley Giles is a better candidate than all of them put together," Harmison was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

"Who really wants this England job? The only names that have come out and said they do want it are Mickey Arthur and Tom Moody. I would take Peter Moores, potentially, but the rest of them – I'm not being disrespectful – Ashley is better."

England's torrid T20 campaign came to an embarrassing conclusion as they were blown away for just 88 in 17.4 overs with only Alex Hales, Ravi Bopara and Chris Jordan getting into double figures as Dutch duo Mudassar Bukhari and Logan van Beek took three wickets each.

In the aftermath of that defeat, Michael Carberry has weighed in over the dilemma surrounding English cricket, criticising the managerial qualities of Giles and providing further doubt with his future.

"I'm sitting here disappointed I'm not involved in the one-day setup," he told the Guardian. "I seem to have been left out for some unknown reason. I don't think it's a cricket reason because my one-day stats speak for themselves over the last few seasons. So I'm disappointed the selectors haven't fronted up and spoken to me."

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