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If Bob Woolmer is the England and Wales Cricket Board's first-choice preference to succeed David Lloyd as the next England coach, as seems likely after the visit to South Africa this week by the international teams director Simon Pack, England will have a long wait in store. Perhaps a very long one.

``We've drawn up a short-list of candidates to explore if they're interested in the job,'' said the ECB's chief executive, Tim Lamb, ``and we'll take as long as we need to get the right person.'' But that period could be longer than they foresee and involve an interim coach for two Test series.

Last evening Woolmer, the South Africa coach, ruled out any possibility of taking over the England job straight after Lloyd's retirement and in time for the four-Test series against New Zealand which follows the World Cup. ``I'll have a three-month break after the World Cup whatever happens,'' he said. ``I've been on the road for the last 18 months and I need to recharge my batteries first, to have a sabbatical if you like.''

``Simon Pack came to Cape Town to see me on April 13 to ascertain my availablity and interest, that's all - we did not discuss anything like terms. But I'll consider my future and make a decision only after the World Cup has finished because I think it's only fair on the South African players to finish the job with them first. After that break I have to consider several feelers that I've had. Coaching cricket is my vocation and something I love.''

Warwickshire, for one, have made an approach for him to return to Edgbaston, in place of Phil Neale whose contract expires this year, and it is understood that the county are offering similar terms for their seasonal job as the ECB for their full-time post. Dennis Amiss, the Warwickshire chief executive, said: ``It's an option we're considering, but Phil Neale has a contract for the rest of the summer. There are a lot of people in the running for the England job, and I would imagine Simon Pack has gone to sound Woolmer out rather than to offer him a contract.''

Given Woolmer's deteriorating relationship with Dr Ali Bacher, managing director of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, it seems certain that his immediate cricketing future will not be in the Republic. It is likely to be a straight choice between England and Warwickshire.

A complication, however, is that Woolmer would be reluctant to return to South Africa as soon as this winter as England's new coach, especially if South Africa win the World Cup, a highly possible eventuality. Such a swift change of sides, even in these days of the free market, would be unacceptable to him, particularly as his wife, Jill, and their two sons are South African.

So while Lamb has indicated that the ECB would be prepared to wait for Woolmer, England would have to make do with an interim apppointment from June until England leave South Africa for the Zimbabwe leg of their winter tour next February, at the earliest: a period covering nine Test matches.

It is inconceivable that any overseas coach would commit himself to be the temporary England coach in these circumstances. The only alternative would be an 'in-house' stop-gap appointment, most probably the current selector Graham Gooch. He is certain to be on the short-list for the permanent job too, along with Woolmer, but is thought to be put off by the amount of winter travel involved, which would take him away from England and his three daughters.

Woolmer deserves to be considered the most successful international coach there has been, though the job has only existed in the last two decades since World Series Cricket. When he took over as the South Africa coach in 1994, his team had only two years of international cricket behind them since their readmission, and yet under his overall tutelage they have become the best side in the world at one-day cricket - in stark contrast to England - and the second best in Test cricket, though they lost to England last summer. Their one remaining weakness was shown then to be inflexibility, both in their batsmen's sedate rate of scoring and in selection when they persisted with the manifestly inadequate opening batsman Gerry Liebenberg.

The other main overseas candidate for the full-time job is thought to be Duncan Fletcher, who has no background in Test cricket but who led his native Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup and coached Glamorgan to the County Championship in 1997. The lack of international coaching experience is almost certain to tell against Fletcher, even if Glamorgan should win again under him this summer.

Of other English candidates, Jack Birkenshaw has some claim as the coach of Leicestershire, the county champions in two of the last three seasons. But at Grace Road yesterday Birkenshaw said that he had not yet been approached, as did another outsider, the county captain James Whitaker, who turns 37 next month and is keen to try his hand soon at coaching or management.

Lloyd's achievement was to set up the right support structure for the England players. With this in place, his successor should be more of a hands-on coach, pri- marily versed in batting technique.

A cheerful or at least phlegmatic disposition is required too, the opposite of the too-open Lloyd who has worn every disappointment on his sleeve. On all these scores Woolmer is the best qualified candidate. The question is whether, at 50, he still has an appetite for the job that demands so much life on the road.