If Andrew Strauss is the perfect man to make the big decisions that will define England’s immediate Test future then the ideal candidate to help could be right under his nose.
The ECB board were on Tuesday night set to act on Strauss’s recommendations on how England can recover from the worst of all their Ashes humiliations, with coach Chris Silverwood and his assistant Graham Thorpe, at least, expected to pay the price with their jobs.
But the big question then is where Strauss will turn next, particularly if the highly-respected former England captain decides that Ashley Giles, the man who replaced him as managing director, must also go after handing Silverwood unprecedented selectorial power.
Alec Stewart (left) keen to take caretaker charge of England’s Test team, under Andrew Strauss
The answer resides at the Oval, where one of England’s most experienced former players can be found still imparting the knowledge he gained during 133 Tests to the current generation at his beloved Surrey as director of cricket.
Sportsmail reported that Alec Stewart is under consideration to become interim coach. And Strauss should turn now to a man who is the epitome of the professionalism and cricketing wisdom England so desperately need.
Time is running out before England must pick their squad to take on West Indies in a three-Test series in March and the leadership vacuum is acute at the ECB, who are currently without a chair and with chief executive Tom Harrison under huge pressure.
That leaves Strauss, making his return to administration initially as chair of the ECB cricket committee, as kingmaker with the power to decide what and who comes next — even to the enviable extent of being able to choose what role he plays himself in the future.
Stewart would be the perfect fit to revive under-performing batters like Ollie Pope (above)
An ideal scenario would be for Strauss to return to the team director role he was forced to give up in the most tragic of circumstances after the death of his wife Ruth. And for him to bring in Stewart as Test coach for the Caribbean tour and probably the summer.
That would give Stewart time to restore pride and core values into England’s hopelessly under-performing batters while being the perfect senior figure to ease the pressure and responsibility on the shoulders of captain Joe Root.
Strauss would then
