- Gough interviewed for national selector role
- Steven Finn was also interviewed for the role
- North joins selection panel with Stokes, Key and McCullum
Former England fast bowler Darren Gough has had his say on Marcus North’s appointment as national selector, saying North’s appointment will divide further the national team from the domestic game.
The ECB has been criticised for an apparent disconnect between the national set-up and the county game. Among those criticising is Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace, who wants to see a better alignment between the two.
North’s appointment took many by surprise, despite the former Australian Test cricketer being the director of cricket at Durham since 2018. North played 21 Tests for Australia but he has also played county cricket for six different teams.
The England selection panel is headed up by director of cricket Rob Key. Also on the panel are head coach Brendon McCullum, captains Ben Stokes and Harry Brook, head of player identification David Court and performance director Ed Barney. Marcus North now joins that group.
Gough: “There’s a lot of repair job to be done”
Speaking to the Stick to Cricket podcast, Gough said there is a lot to. He said:
“This is a hard role because there’s a lot of repair job to be done. They’re saying they are trying to bring England cricket and county cricket closer together – I don’t think they are because we’ve got a Kiwi coach and we’ve now got an Australian selector. I don’t think that’s brought the game closer to the county game at all. I do think there’s a big, big repair job there.”
Gough, who played 58 Tests for England in a 12-year career, was interviewed for the role, along with Steven Finn. He said that Rob Key’s explanation for North’s appointment over him was because North was a ‘safer’ option. He said:
“He’s Australian – that’s not a safer option, is it? Key didn’t think I’d enjoy the role, which I didn’t agree with either because I wouldn’t have gone for that role. I love the sport and I’m into data and writing. I write a lot and watch a lot of cricket. I think it’s because he’s director of cricket at Durham. I would say as director of cricket at Durham, he doesn’t watch as much cricket as he probably should.”
Gough also had his say on the fact that Steven Finn was also interviewed. The 37-year-old former England fast bowler serves on the board of his former county Middlesex. He said:
“For this role, I don’t think he should have even got an interview. No management skills, no coaching skills. I don’t think he should have been anywhere near an interview for that job. Nowhere near. He might be in four years if he gets a bit more experience. He’s someone in four years who could easily do that job, absolutely no problem with him – a great lad. For this, it should have been someone with experience in those areas.”
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