Australian Marcus North is set to be appointed England’s new national selector to help coach Brendon McCullum’s side regain the Ashes.
Reports from British media have suggested the 46-year-old former allrounder has been chosen for the job after final interviews earlier this week, though the move has not yetbeen finalised. He would be the first foreigner to be in charge of selecting the England men’s team.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has not commented on the matter.
North has been director of cricket at English county Durham since 2018, where he has worked alongside England test captain Ben Stokes.
He previously played for Durham and for five other English counties, as well as playing 21 tests for Australia.
His appointment would mark the most significant change to the England set-up since the recent 4-1 Ashes defeat, after current selector Luke Wright decided to leave his post.
Australian Marcus North (centre) celebrating a wicket for Australia against Pakistan in 2010. He is set to become a selector for the England men's cricket team. Photo / Photosport
North would join Kiwi head coach McCullum, director of cricket Rob Key and the test and limited overs captains to select the squads for upcoming series and will have some input on the starting 11.
He would be likely to have only a limited input for England’s upcoming test series opener against the Black Caps in June, but would become more involved as the season progressed. The next Ashes series is in England next year.
North, who scored 1171 runs in his 21 tests for Australia, has been credited with helping to rejuvenate Durham over the past decade since their relegation and financial troubles in 2016.
He faces a tough challenge alongside McCullum of trying to revamp England after their disastrous tour of Australia and a series draw at home against India.
McCullum has often chosen players believed to have the attributes for international cricket rather than being proven performers at the county level.
One of the key first decisions for North could be finding a new opener to replace Zak Crawley, who has underperformed in recent tests.
