England is set to appoint former Australian cricketer Marcus North to a newly created position as national selector, according to The Telegraph.
North played 21 Test matches for Australia, averaging 35 with the bat and taking 14 wickets across 2009 and 2010.
The Telegraph is reporting that he will be appointed to the top job, winning it over former English fast bowlers Steven Finn and Darren Gough.
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Durham captain Alex Lees in his blazer chats with Marcus North. Getty
North replaces former English batsman Luke Wright, who resigned following the disastrous Ashes tour.
Wright bore the brunt of the Ashes failure, while coach Brendon McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key are continuing on.
North’s role will be dubbed national selector, whereas Wright’s title was simply ‘England selector’. It appears to be a more senior position and one England hasn’t had in its camp since Ed Smith was sacked in 2021.
England was heavily criticised for its selection across the Ashes. The decisions under the most scrutiny were dropping Ben Foakes as wicketkeeper for the series, sticking with Ollie Pope for too long, not picking enough reserve batsmen in their squad, not picking Jacob Bethell soon enough and not playing spinner Shoaib Bashir at any point amongst them.
Marcus North playing for the Australian Test side in 2010. Getty
North will have a lot of work to do to unpack the Test team’s issues, while McCullum and his philosophy continues on.
According to The Telegraph, he will become the first non Englishman appointed as the team’s national selector.
He does know the local scene however, having coached at county side Durham for the last eight years. North also played for a number of English county teams across his playing career.
The Telegraph’s journalist Will Macpherson described him as “the most English of Australians”.
North is expected to start in the role in time to select England’s side for a three-Test home series against New Zealand in June.