England selector interviews taking place this week

England have moved to the final stage of appointing a new national selector, with interviews taking place this week.

The appointment is the most significant change to England's backroom staff following the dismal 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia last winter.

However, the departure of previous selector Luke Wright is not connected to the Ashes humiliation – the former Sussex all-rounder's decision to stand down was a personal one.

The national selector will be involved in every step of England's player identification structure. The role will include being consulted on the final XI for a Test or white-ball internationals, selection of senior and Lions squads, liaising with counties and leading a team of scouts.

Last week, the Telegraph linked Steven Finn to the job, while the Daily Mail touted another former England pace bowler in Darren Gough. Ex-England captain Sir Alastair Cook has ruled himself out of the running.

The new selector will likely only have a limited involvement in the process of choosing a squad for the first Test against New Zealand, beginning at Lord's on 4 June.

The squad is set to be named in the week beginning 18 May, ahead of an England training camp in Loughborough commencing on 25 May.

In the aftermath of the heavy loss in Australia, Ben Stokes' team are likely to be looking for a new opener to replace Zak Crawley.

Durham's Emilio Gay and Somerset's James Rew would be the leading contenders, and could both be named in the squad for the first Test.

The identity of England's frontline spinner and seamers to join the fast-bowling department would also be up for discussion.

One challenge the selector will face is balancing the value of performances in county cricket with an England regime that has recently been guided by the attributes it believes are required to be successful in the Test arena.

Some of England's left-field selections under Stokes, head coach Brendon McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key have made a swift impact.

Opener Ben Duckett thrived when he was recalled to the Test team, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson both enjoyed successful starts to their international careers, while Jacob Bethell is the incumbent number three despite limited first-class cricket.

But Dan Lawrence's promotion to makeshift opener lasted only three Tests in the summer of 2024, the same year left-arm seamer Josh Hull made his England debut in his 11th first-class match. Neither have played for England since.

England's selection then fell apart during the Ashes. Shoaib Bashir did not play a Test despite being identified as the first-choice a spinner, a role which instead went to batting all-rounder Will Jacks.

Batters Crawley and Ollie Pope did not repay the long-term faith shown in them, while there was no reserve wicketkeeper for the struggling Smith. Atkinson, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer completed a trio of pace bowlers ruled out by injuries.

The selector position is a full-time role, meaning the eventual appointee is likely to have to give up any other positions in the game.

Around 80 candidates submitted applications for the job in April. These were then whittled down by initial conversations, leading to the final interviews beginning this week.

In inviting applications, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said it was looking for "significant professional experience and intimate knowledge of international and first-class cricket, including knowledge of emerging players and county network".

The ECB added that applicants should have "demonstrable experience of informing talent identification", "a strong understanding of data and analytics within cricket" and "the ability to manage relationships with cricketers at international and county levels".