From the boardroom to the changing room, England’s men’s cricket lacks leadership.
There are roles unfilled and others about to be vacated — probably starting with Graham Thorpe, the assistant coach with responsibility for batting. His early-hours mis-step this week has only accelerated a departure that was looming; his messaging is not getting through to the young batters and he is tired of Covid restrictions. Whether or not he gets the Middlesex head coach job, he seems certain to leave.
So does Chris Silverwood, the head coach, in the wake of the Ashes debacle. And if Ashley Giles fires him, he has little choice but to turn the gun on himself, given he gave Silverwood so much power. Last year, Giles not only fired Ed Smith, the national selector, but made his role obsolete, handing all responsibility to Silverwood.
Giles reports to Tom Harrison. After rumours about the ECB chief’s position, it is expected he will move on this year, just after the “Long Term Incentive” payment — a bonus to you and I — lands, when he shares £2.1million with other ECB executives. He has not been as bad a CEO as some say but, given the financial hardship of the board and the game since Covid struck, it is unlikely he will be remembered well.
Last year, Ian Watmore left his role as chair after the misguided decision to pull England out of the short but significant tour of Pakistan in September. So the ECB have no chairman and expect their CEO to leave this year, the director of cricket, head and assistant coaches could leave and there is no independent selector.
Joe Root is likely to stay as captain, but who knows? He retains the top brass’s support, and there are few viable alternatives (Ben Stokes, who has so much on his plate in cricketing and personal terms, became less likely with each passing day in Australia), but a little distance and removal of emotion could change Root’s mind. Virat Kohli stepping down as India captain shows that doing so is possible.
All that makes it difficult to believe an England team will take the field this Saturday (in a T20 against the West Indies in Barbados) and another Test squad — for the tour of the Caribbean in March — will need naming in the next fortnight.
In that squad, the long-term futures of significant cricketers will need deciding. It is not one to be taken lightly by someone on the way out. England cannot afford a situation like 2015 when, after a poor World Cup showing, Peter Moores led the side in the Windies, then was fired straight afterwards. A rare shaft of light in the leadership void is found with Andrew Strauss, back as an advisor to the board. He will review Giles’s report on this tour. Strauss is a late candidate as ECB chair, along with Surrey’s Richard Thompson, and would be a good fit.
Strauss should turn to Alec Stewart, the Surrey director of cricket, and beg him to take over the running of the Test team until the end of the summer.
Stewart, as proud an English cricketer as there ever has been, has been successful at building a positive culture from a low ebb at Surrey and knows the English game. He was in the frame to be head coach in 2019, but family circumstances that made touring difficult got in the way.
Asking Stewart to step in serves two purposes. He would have 10 games — three in the Caribbean, three against New Zealand, one against India and three against South Africa — to guide England into a new era. Only one tour would be required and with, say, Paul Collingwood looking after the white-ball team (which Eoin Morgan runs anyway) on a temporary basis, time at home would still be available.
In that time, Strauss — with Stewart’s input — can decide what an appropriate management structure is for the next five years. Right now, serious long-term coaching candidates are thin on the ground because, while the job is well paid, it is demanding; coach and selector for all three formats is a hiding to nothing for one man.
The best coaches will happily earn more to do less on the franchise circuit. Perhaps by September, Justin Langer’s future will be clear, while Mahela Jayawardene or Ricky Ponting might be more interested.
A red- and white-ball format split seems obvious, but so does the reintroduction of a selection voice outside the changing room, perhaps with the title of list manager; combining Smith’s old job with that of Mo Bobat, the performance director who should also take responsibility for the Ashes defeat.
The list manager could lead England and Lions selection, plan touring arrangements and contracts, but also manage the best county players; in fact, when his short-term coaching role is done, Stewart could stay on and do that.
