Former England skipper Alec Stewart a probable for the national selector role



image-l831ebtiAlec Stewart is currently working in nurturing young talent in Surrey

The role of the national selector is being brought back into the English cricket once again. The national selector's role was scrapped in 2021 by Ashley Giles, and was handed over to the then men's coach across all three formats- Chris Silverwood. England's last national selector before this initiative was Ed Smith and now Alec Stewart seems to be one of the favourites for the role. 

However, that move did not work according to the plan as England witnessed a big slump in form. They lost 16 out of the total 17 Tests that they played before the beginning of Brendon McCullum's coaching tenure. 

The former kiwi skipper was appointed in May 2022 and his coaching style resulting in a turnaround of fortunes for the English side as they have been in rich vein of form. This has prompted a rethink, with Rob Key (Managing Director of English Cricket) adamant from the outset of his appointment that he would be looking to reinstate the role of a national selector. 

image-l8333envStokes and McCullum brought a change in ENG cricket [PC: Twitter]

With Stokes and Morgan retired and Buttler not a part of the Test set-up, England have two completely different teams operating parallel to each other. This type of a dynamic certainly calls for a independent selector that takes calls regarding the construction of a format-suited side to match the team's priorities. 

Nick Knight, Steve Finn among other names considered for the role

59 year old Stewart was interested in the Managing director's role, but that went to Key after Stewart withdrew due to family reasons. 

The former wicket keeper isn't the only frontrunner for the role as the list includes former England players-turned-commentators Nick Knight, Steven Finn and Steve Harmison.


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