Thursday 9 April 2015 14:45, UK
Former England captain Alec Stewart has told Sky Sports News HQ he would be interested in taking a role with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
The ECB created a new position of director of England Cricket on Wednesday after deciding to part company with managing director Paul Downton following an inquest into England’s poor World Cup campaign.
Stewart, 52, who played 133 Tests and 170 one-day internationals for England, is currently director of cricket at Surrey and would be happy to step up to the international stage if the ECB wanted him, and the job was right for him.
He told Sky Sports News HQ: “Yes so long as it is the right job, I will listen. First of all the ECB has got to decide what person they want in that role and what is the role?
“If it was me then the ECB would obviously have to speak with Surrey to get permission to chat first, but I’m an England fan now – yes I was an England captain and an England player – and I want to see England as the No 1 side in the world in all forms of the game, and if that role meant that you had a huge part to play then I would be stupid not to look at it.
“So let’s see what happens. Yes I would be interested if it was the right role, but first of all I have got to be asked.”
Yes I would be interested if it was the right role, but first of all I have got to be asked.
Stewart admits England performed badly in the World Cup, but he also believes that there are still a lot of reasons to be positive about cricket in this country.
He said: “The World Cup was shocking – the way we played or the way we didn’t play – we got left behind, but I don’t think it would take a lot to get England back moving in the right direction again.
“Test cricket we are doing okay, don’t worry about that. England have always produced good players through the county system; that will continue.
"We have to make sure we are producing the right number of players, the right quality and then playing the right style of cricket, which I think the players and the management will be the first to admit we didn’t do in the World Cup.”
One issue that will be high on the agenda for whoever gets the ECB job is the possible return of Kevin Pietersen to the England team.
Pietersen is currently out of the England picture after he was sacked following the 2013/14 Ashes series but has rejoined Surrey in a bid to earn a recall, a move which Stewart hopes will benefit the county as they attempt to win promotion back to County Championship Division One.
“That’s why we brought him back here,” said Stewart. “As soon as he pulled out of the IPL, having had conversations with me already, he showed a real desire to come back here to try and get his way back into the England team.
“To do that he has to score runs for us, so if he is turning out hundreds, double hundreds, then that can do his cause a lot of good. But most importantly it will be helping us big time.
“He’s not on their radar at the moment, but if he scores runs then the media will give him a lot of air time so that’s what he has to do - he knows that, we know that. Go and score your hundreds, let your bat do the talking and then it is up to everyone else, ie. the decision-makers at the ECB whether we see him wearing an England shirt or not.”
Stewart reckons Surrey should be capable of making their mark in Division Two this season with Pietersen and Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara in their squad alongside a number of promising youngsters.
“We’re looking forward to a very good season,” he added. “Last year the buzz word was progress and some progress was made. This year we have got to make more progress, and with more progress success can happen.
“We’ve got a nice blend of youth and experience in that dressing room so we’re looking forward to, hopefully, a good season, but that will only happen if everyone performs and creates a good environment.”
