Will a paid Selector do Things better?

The state of English Cricket has been much criticised over the years, and often with good reasons. Especially the national team has not performed consistently, floating erratically between amazing victories and crushing defeats. Many wise men have offered many different explanations for that, but no one has yet come up with a real solution that would give England the strength and stamina displayed for many years now by Australia.

Having searched for answers and looked around the world, we have adopted the Academy system from Australia and employed a whole string of foreign coaches, including specialists for bowling and fielding. This has lead to some improvement and produced some excellent new players. But still - as a team - England lacks motivation, skills and consistency.

For that the selectors have often been blamed, and in many cases rightly so. Before the introduction of the new contracts many good players - and in particular new emerging talents - have simply been ignored. Others were called up to play for England, but then dropped again after only one or two Tests. We all know that even the best player can have a bad spell, and only practice makes masters.

Now, after a tenure of eleven years, David Graveney is stepping down as chairman of England's selectors, to be replaced by Geoff Miller.
Personally I am sad to see David go, as he was not only a good selector, but also a chairman who listened to others and introduced a better and more efficient system of selection. Above that he is a good communicator and kept captains, players and officials well informed of all important details.
But eleven years is a long time, and one can understand that the ECB is looking for a change now and then. Geoff Miller is probably a good choice, as he has international experience and worked with Graveney as his assistant. I wish him luck and success, and most of all a sense for stamina and consistency.

New chairman of selectors Geoff Miller (centre) with his predecessor David Graveney (left) and Rod Marsh (right)

With the change of chairman the ECB has also changed the status of the selectors. Geoff Miller is the first chairman who will be a full-time paid employee of the ECB. The idea is to give him more time to concentrate on the job, and with an ever increasing number of international fixtures - now not only for Tests and ODIs, but also including the new 20/20 format - this might well be necessary, especially as the game is becoming more and more professional.
But it remains to be seen if a paid full-time selector can do a better job than the many who did it on a part-time basis before.

This might well depend on the input from the two part-time selectors, who will be Ashley Giles and James Whitaker. Both have more than enough experience and should form a good team with the new chairman. However, as Giles is in his first year as Director of Cricket for Warwickshire, he will have to spend much time looking after his county team and be present at Edgebaston. Whitaker, after losing his position as Director of Cricket for Leicestershire, might have more time on his hands and also the motivation to make an impression as a selector.

England's upcoming tour in New Zealand will be the first chance for the new selectors to work together and to make an impact on the team.