England men’s national selector Ed Smith to leave ECB role

Three years to the day after he was appointed, England have announced that National Selector Ed Smith will leave the ECB at the end of the month as part of a “restructure” of selection for its men’s international teams.

As part of the restructure – which has been devised by Ashley Giles, England’s Managing Director of Men’s Cricket – “clear accountability” and “overall responsibility” for selection will be given to Chris Silverwood, the Head Coach, for squad selection.

Silverwood will continue to pick playing XIs with the help of the two captains, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan.

James Taylor, Smith’s right-hand man, has seen his job title change from England Selector to Head Scout. He will work with Mo Bobat, England’s Performance Director, and England’s coaches to inform selection because the weight of Silverwood’s role means he is rarely able to get to county cricket.

A statement said: “Supporting this system will be a resource that will provide intelligence from performance analysis, talent ID, scouting, medical and sports science”.

Giles thanked Smith, who was appointed by Giles’s predecessor Andrew Strauss, for his contribution to the ECB, before explaining the change to the structure.

“The current process of selecting England teams has been in place for over 120 years. Even though this system has its merits, with advances in technology and a greater information gathering resource at our disposal than ever before, the restructure is in the best interests of helping England men’s teams be successful.

“The new structure also makes lines of accountability much clearer, with Chris Silverwood, as Head Coach, taking ultimate responsibility for picking England senior men’s squads.”

Smith said: “It has been a huge privilege to work with great people trying to help England cricket and I am excited about watching England’s continued development.

“The role of National Selector has been enjoyable and rewarding, and that is significantly due to my interaction with all of the England players.”

Smith’s tenure was broadly a success, with the Test team’s fortunes improving and the white-ball excellence continuing. His recall of Jos Buttler to the Test side on the basis of IPL selection will be remembered as a success, as will his willingness to blood young players.