Sir Andrew Strauss conscious of ‘ticking clock’ for ECB appointments

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Sir Andrew Strauss: “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”.

Sir Andrew Strauss says he has an appetite to be ‘bold’ in his approach moving forward

Sir Andrew Strauss admits England are racing against a “ticking clock” as they seek to find the right people to lead the Test team into a “bold and ambitious” new era.

Strauss is currently serving at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as interim managing director following the sacking of Ashley Giles, with a job advertisement for that role due to be released on Monday.

The search will be carried out by SRI Executive head-hunters, the first task of the selected candidate being the appointment of a new coaching and selection group.

And, with a jam-packed international summer starting June 2, there’s a lot to be done to complete a backroom team overview that’s likely to see applicants from all over the world.

“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.

“Certainly the ambition is to have the trial coach in place for that first trial of the summer. There are all kinds of moving pieces in recruiting, including notice periods and I don’t think we can say that categorically, but it’s the ambition. .”

While that process continues, Strauss is moving ahead with the first steps of a high-performance review of English cricket.

The need for a wide-ranging investigation into the structures and county system that underpin the sport became apparent after Test Side flopped in Australia, the culmination of a poor year for the flagship team that gave rise to the generic term “ball”. red”. Restart’.

Strauss, who is in Barbados with the team for this week’s Test against the West Indies, tried to flesh out what the concept meant and set some lofty goals.

“I think we’re aiming very hard to be the best in the world in all formats. If the showcase works well, the knock-on effects for the game as a whole are huge,” he said.

“If we’re honest, in Test Cricket we’ve been number one for 12 months in 42 years, with times when we’ve been very good and in the top three of four teams. We were in a similar spot as white ball.” cricket before 2016.

“So I feel like we feel like being bold in our approach. I think we need to be prepared to be quite bold and ambitious. I think incremental adjustments aren’t going to give us the sea change that we’re looking for.”

“The winds of change are strong, have been for a number of years and I don’t see that changing any time soon,” he said.

“I’ve been through two domestic structure review processes before. The problem is if you start with too many restrictions, it really limits your ability to think in those bold terms. You have to start from a clean sheet of paper.

“We want the recommendations to be approved in time for the 2023 domestic season, so that means ideally by the end of September this year. I could stretch it a little bit, but these projects can get very broad and it can get stuck and it’s important to focus.” people’s minds.”

One area that Strauss seems keen to address is that of professionalism in the game, although he stopped short of supporting suggestions of a drinking culture in cricket.

“I don’t think I would go that route. If you ask my assessment, I think there are many areas where the game of cricket can improve professionalism,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not professional, it’s just that if you start comparing it to other sports and their approach, there are some areas.

“If you look at top-level sport around the world – football, rugby, the Olympics – there is a very strong systematic approach to what enables good performance in between.

“I think we do that to some extent in cricket, but there are areas where we could do more.”

England’s second Test in their three-match series begins in Barbados on Wednesday, with the final game taking place in Grenada from 24 March.

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