Graham Thorpe has followed Chris Silverwood and Ashley Giles in being shown the door by England, but interim Managing Director Andrew Strauss has confirmed that Joe Root will captain the Test team in the Caribbean next month.
Thorpe, the Assistant Coach with responsibility for batting, has left his role, becoming the third departure in three days in the wake of a 4-0 Ashes drubbing in Australia.
Giles, the Managing Director of Cricket, was sacked on Wednesday after a meeting with Chief Executive Tom Harrison, before Head Coach and Selector Silverwood was dismissed yesterday.
Thorpe’s departure today was widely expected because England’s batting – with the exception of Root – has misfired hugely, especially in Australia, where they failed to reach 300 in 10 innings and scored just one century. That Thorpe smoking a cigar in a Hobart hotel led to Tasmanian Police being called for an incident that the Assistant Coach filmed put another nail in his coffin.
Root expressed his desire to remain in post in Australia, and has been retained for the tour of the three-Test tour of the Caribbean. Strauss spoke to him this week, and said it was “absolutely clear the extent of his commitment to moving this England Test team forward”. Root has been in charge for five years and is the beneficiary of a dearth of alternatives.
“At this moment in time he is 100 per cent the right person to take the team forward,” said Strauss, before acknowledging that a new Head Coach and Managing Director would look at things with “fresh eyes” later this year, and may conclude that a new captain is required.
Harrison, who is also under pressure for his job after seven years in the role, provided a staunch defence of his position, saying he was “not running away form this challenge” because some consistency of leadership is required. The ECB is currently without a Chair.
“I’m not clinging on for grim death,” said Harrison. “I’m [staying] because I think this is the right thing for English cricket. When I think that is not the case, you will not need to push me.”
Strauss stepped down as Managing Director of Cricket in 2018 to care for his late wife Ruth, who was suffering from a rare lung cancer. He has now stepped in on an interim basis after his former team-mate and successor Giles was let go.
Strauss said he still had family responsibilities that meant he would not look to do this role full-time, but said his short-term remit was “to prep the team for the West Indies tour, recommend structural change, and help recruit for new roles, particularly Managing Director of Cricket”.
Strauss believes that Giles’ decision to remove the role of National Selector nine months ago when Ed Smith was fired (handing all the responsibility to Silverwood) “put an impossible strain on the England Head Coach”. He said the aim would be to find the “right structure to get the best decision making both with the squad and the XI” which, in his view, would involve reinstating a voice outside the dressing room.
Strauss said all options would be explored and confirmed that England would look at splitting the coaching role down red and white-ball lines. He also said that Australia Coach Justin Langer, whose future remains uncertain after Cricket Australia meetings overnight, could be a candidate to coach England.
In the meantime, Strauss’ focus is on the West Indies tour. He hopes to appoint an interim Head Coach for the West Indies tour “as soon as possible”. Both external and internal candidates will be considered, with Alec Stewart of Surrey and Paul Collingwood the favourites. A panel – including Strauss and the interim appointment - would pick the squad for the tour, which begins on February 24.
Strauss confirmed that one of his recommendations to the ECB Board had been for “a full independent review into the role and structure of domestic game with particular focus on its ability to produce international cricketers”.
He said that while domestic cricket was a “contributing factor” to the Ashes defeat, it should not take full responsibility. However, he says English cricket should not be afraid of being “ambitious, bold and radical” in the wake of the review.
