Ian Bell in the running for national selector role… as director of cricket Rob Key prepares to restore position that was controversially axed by his predecessor Ashley Giles last year
- Ashley Giles controversially chose to abolish the national selector role in 2021
- He has since been replaced by Rob Key, who wants to restore the position
- Former England batter Ian Bell has emerged as a candidate for the Test role
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
Ian Bell has emerged as a candidate for the role of Test national selector, as director of cricket Rob Key looks to make the final major appointments of his new reign.
The 40-year-old Bell, who scored 7,727 runs in 118 Tests for England, retired from the first-class game two years ago, and has since broken into coaching.
He recently spent time at Derbyshire, having previously worked for England Under 19s, and had stints with Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred and Hobart Hurricanes in Australia’s T20 Big Bash League.
Ian Bell had a glittering career for England as a player, making over 100 Test appearances
Director of cricket Rob Key is considering bringing Bell in as a national selector
Key is keen to restore the role of national selector after his predecessor, Ashley Giles, abolished it last year, bringing an end to Ed Smith’s three-year tenure.
But he is believed to be keen on splitting the role between Test cricket and the white-ball formats, as he has done with the position of head coach, after handing Brendon McCullum the red-ball position last month, before placing Matthew Mott in charge of the one-day and T20 teams.
Bell is said to be on Key’s wishlist for the Test role.
Bell could soon be working alongside Brendon McCullum (above) to pick England’s Test team
More Stories
Alex Carey hits teammate Todd Murphy with an icy snub at the fifth Ashes Test – leaving cricket fans stunned: ‘They must take it in turns to take his lunch money’
Steve Smith sends James Anderson a very cheeky message as Aussies form Ashes guard of honour for retiring England great Stuart Broad
Stuart Broad becomes the second player to hit his final ball in Test cricket for six as Usman Khawaja becomes leading run-scorer in the series