James Whitaker to step down as England Chief Selector

Whitaker had been working as England selector for a decade.

James Whitaker and Alastair Cook | Getty Images

James Whitaker has decided to step down as England's selector at the end of March 2018 after England decides to revamp its team selection process. About the latest development, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed on Monday (12 March).

England will bring in a scouting system with a minimum of 12 "discipline-specific scouts" under its revamp ahead of the start of the summer.

Whitaker had been working as the national selector for a decade and chief selector since 2013, and his exit is related to the ECB's introduction of a scouting system under which each selector will have the power to pick its Test, Twenty20 and one-day sides individually.  

With the plan of bringing in a scouting system to England, there will be a three-strong selection panel consisting of Whitaker's replacement as national selector, a full-time independent England selector, and the England head coach. The ECB will advertise for a replacement for Whitaker this week.

As per BBC, England director of cricket Andrew Strauss said, “The new approach will allow us to see more players throughout the county game, more often, and simplify the selection process.”

He signed off, “We will have a greater body of information, deeper insight into the talent we can pick and a better understanding of who to help develop across the red-ball and white-ball games.”

The ECB is also hoping that it will announce the replacement for Whitaker ahead of England's Test series against Pakistan in May at home.

 

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 13 Mar, 2018

    Share Via