Former England batsman Rob Key had previously expressed interest in the job and is set to succeed Ashley Giles in the role; Key’s first jobs will include the appointment of a new England Test captain and head coach.
Rob Key is expected to be announced as England’s new managing director.
Rob Key is expected to be announced as the new managing director of England men’s cricket next week, and one of his first tasks will be to name Joe Root’s successor as test captain.
The 42-year-old, who played 15 Tests and five one-day internationals for England, will succeed Ashley Giles in the role following the latter’s departure in the wake of the winter’s dismal Ashes series.
Sky Sports cricket pundit Key was reported to have been on a shortlist of interviewees for the job in March and had publicly expressed an interest in succeeding former England player Giles.
“There’s a lot of speculation, there’s a lot of jobs up for grabs in English cricket,” former Kent captain Key said of the role while commenting on the third test between Pakistan and Australia last month.
“A few people have been asked, a few people are looking for these jobs. What I have is you have to weigh how much golf you can get by doing some of these. For me, lifestyle is the big deal.”
Arguably the most pressing issue for Key will be the appointment of a new captain after Root announced his decision to resign on Friday after five years at the helm.
Many suggest that Ben Stokes take over the captaincy from Root, and Stuart Broad appears to be distancing himself from the job in his latest mail on sunday column.
As well as a new captain, Key will spearhead England’s search for a permanent head coach with Chris Silverwood sacked following the Ashes’ 4-0 defeat.
Paul Collingwood was put in caretaker charge of the recent West Indies tour, which ended in a 1-0 series loss, and the ECB’s aim is to have a new boss in time for the first home Test of the summer against New Zealand, which begins June 2.
Interim managing director Sir Andrew Strauss admitted last month that England are racing against a “ticking clock” as they seek to find the right people to lead the Test team going forward.
“We are making progress with that and we are obviously very aware that there is a clock ticking, both in terms of appointing a director of cricket and then of course the manager, or potentially managers, on the back of that,” he said. Strauss.
“The ambition is definitely to have the test coach in place for that first test of the summer.
“There are all kinds of moving parts in recruiting, including notice periods and I don’t think we can say that categorically, but it’s ambition.”
