Whitaker removed as ECB brings in selection shake-up
National selector departs in Strauss-led reform Replacement will head up new scouting system
England will introduce a scouting system under the control of a new national selector in time for the start of this summer following the removal yesterday of James Whitaker.
Whitaker leaves his job as national selector at the end of this month as part of a long-overdue shake-up of England’s selection panel. Andrew Strauss, the team director, has been mulling over changes to England’s selection process ever since he was appointed in 2015 and Whitaker becomes the most high-profile casualty of the Ashes defeat.
The ECB will advertise for a replacement for Whitaker this week and the successful candidate will then appoint one other full-time independent selector, along with a network of scouts. The emphasis on “independent” by the ECB yesterday indicates the end of county coaches or directors of cricket doubling up as England selectors, a situation that has led to accusations of conflicts of interest in the past.
This means that current parttime selectors Angus Fraser and Mick Newell, directors of cricket at Middlesex and Nottinghamshire respectively, will have to stand down from those positions if they want a job in the new England set-up.
They will remain in place until the reshaped selection panel is formed and will have to decide whether to apply for jobs in the new set-up. Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, remains on the selection panel, but has long wanted changes. He will support the introduction of specialised scouts to watch county players. Bayliss has little time to watch county cricket and, by his own admission, relies on others for information and sometimes meets a player for the first time when he joins the England set-up.
Whitaker’s role may attract Andy Flower, now in charge of the Lions, and Fraser may also feel ready to step up to the England set-up after winning the Championship with Middlesex in 2016. Ashley Giles, director of cricket at Warwickshire, and Alec Stewart, in the same role at Surrey, are former England players who could also apply.
The decision to remove Whitaker and shake up the selection process follows on from the ECB last summer appointing specialist scouts to their player pathway programme. Former England players Geoff Arnold, Jack Birkenshaw, Bob Cottam, John Emburey and Mike Hendrick were used to identify players for the Lions, under-19s and specialist pace and spin bowling programmes.
Strauss appointed former teacher Mo Bobat as the ECB’S player identification lead last year to modernise player selection processes. Bobat wants to learn from American sports, where data and scouting programmes are more advanced.
This will now be extended to the full England set-up, with input also coming from the ECB’S lead coaches at Loughborough, including Graham Thorpe (batting), Kevin Shine (fast bowling) and Peter Such (spin).
Further changes to the England set-up could be announced before the start of this summer. Bayliss has indicated he is ready to step aside as coach of the Twenty20 team and Flower told Telegraph Sport last week there could be a shake-up of the Lions programme, including coaching staff, following the recent 3-0 defeat by West Indies.
Whitaker spent a decade as an England selector and had been national selector since 2013. The former Leicestershire captain drove thousands of miles each summer watching players in county cricket, but selection over the past couple of years has been baffling at times.
England picked an Ashes squad lacking pace this winter and, when Steven Finn dropped out injured, they called up Tom Curran, another medium-pace right-arm seamer. England have failed to find a replacement for opener Strauss, despite him retiring five years ago, and the call-up of James Vince for the Ashes was a failed gamble. Liam Dawson was an odd selection last summer and England have often been too loyal to struggling players.
There have been successes. Dawid Malan had a good Ashes tour and Haseeb Hameed was picked for India last year and made a good impression before injury and a subsequent loss of form.
“The game now requires our teams to play more often, at a higher intensity, in a range of conditions and across different formats. A formalised scouting network will help us to be more aware of players’ strengths and, as they will be seen more often by more people, they will have a greater opportunity to impress,” said Strauss.
“Our new national selector will coordinate with a full-time England selector, who will be appointed by the national selector, and the England head coach to ensure we are scouting players throughout the pathway for England’s current and future needs. We are looking for a person who is an excellent judge of talent and character and has experience in both talent identification and the international game.”
Strauss thanked Whitaker for his work and said the decision was not based on results, although it is hard to imagine the changes happening had England won the Ashes.
“Now is the right moment to make the change,” he said.