England are advertising for separate red and white ball head coaches, with new Managing Director of Men's cricket Rob Key making his first major decision.
Key had been expected to split the role, having previously called for it while working as a pundit for Sky Sports . "I would split the coaching," he said in February. "Not because it's a lot of work but because it's two very different teams at two different times.
"The [white-ball] team could do with a facilitator coach who can just keep delivering what they're doing but challenge them. The Test team needs a completely different style of coach - a driver of culture and environment."
And Key has now begun implementing that vision, with the ECB formally beginning the process to find two new head coaches by advertising the jobs. Both coaches will report directly to Key and be "accomplished strategists with clear and ambitious plans for how they will develop and build success for English cricket moving forward".
The two coaches will also "play a central role in selecting the team for their respective format alongside a national selection panel", with a national selector also expected to be appointed after the role was abolished by Key's predecessor Ashley Giles.
The likes of Gary Kirsten, Simon Katich and Graham Ford have all been widely reported as potential candidates, while the likes of Ricky Ponting, Ottis Gibson and Mahela Jayawardene are said to have turned down approaches from England.
The advertisement states that the application process will end on May 6, with first stage interviews taking place on May 9 and 10. That leaves the ECB with less than a month to ensure that a new head coach is appointed before the first Test of the summer against New Zealand, which is due to start on June 2 at Lord's.
The white-ball side is not back in action until June 17, with captain Eoin Morgan set to lead the team in a three-match ODI series against the Netherlands which will take place concurrently with the Test series against New Zealand.
Key is set to further outline his vision for English cricket later this week, with a press conference scheduled to take place on Thursday. He is also in the process of finding Joe Root's successor as Test captain, with current vice-captain Ben Stokes expected to be given the job.
