The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is set to announce Marcus North as the national selector of the England men’s cricket team. North is a former Australian cricketer turned coach who played 21 Test matches and 2 Ashes series. He’s also played first-class cricket for 6 counties during his professional career.
ECB to name first foreign national selector
The 46-year-old has been the director of cricket at the Durham County Cricket Club since 2018 and has worked with Ben Stokes, Mark Wood, Brydon Carse, and Matthew Potts. If the ECB makes the announcement official, North will become the first-ever foreign national selector in England’s history.
North was one of around 80 candidates who applied for the selector job in April. The list was cut down, leading to final interviews. Two former England Test bowlers, Steven Finn and Darren Gough, were shortlisted as well, but in the end, North piped them, according to BBC Sport.
North will replace Luke Wright, who was relieved of duties by the ECB after a 4-1 defeat in the Ashes 2025-26. Wright’s departure wasn’t a decision made due to results down under but a personal one, since many had spoken about his absence from the County Championship, and some coaches even stated that he hadn’t seen him once during his 3-year tenure.
North will play a role in the selection of England’s national team and the England Lions squads. He’ll lead a team of scouts and work closely with the counties. He’ll work closely with head coach Brendon McCullum, director of cricket Rob Key, captains Stokes and Harry Brook, performance director Ed Barney, and head of player identification David Court.
Squad for New Zealand series, first assignment
His first assignment will be selecting the name for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand, which will commence on June 4 at Lord’s. Although it’s believed he’ll have a limited involvement in the selection for that series. The squad will be named in the third week of May, with players setting camp in Loughborough from May 25 onwards.
All eyes will be on Zak Crawley and his potential replacement. The opener was given a long run by Wright, Stokes, and McCullum, keeping the away Ashes in mind. But the move didn’t work as he averaged 27.30 in the 5-match series. He’s expected to be dropped with Durham’s Emilio Gay and Somerset’s James Rew leading contenders to replace him.
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