ED SMITH’S appointment as new chief selector has been slammed as “another job for the boys”.
Former Test batsman Smith will change the way England teams are chosen — with more emphasis on data rather than pure cricket judgement.
But ex-Test fast bowler Darren Gough says England supremo Andrew Strauss has handed the role to one of his mates, after they played together at Middlesex.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Gough said: “It’s jobs for the boys again by the look of it. He’s one of Straussy’s mates.
“It’s not surprising they are changing the selectors. There has been no real plan to selection — it’s been all over the shop.
“Ed Smith is a very intelligent man, Cambridge-educated. But whether he gets selection right is another matter.”
Smith, 40, played three Tests for England back in 2003.
He will now replace James Whitaker as national selector and will hire a No 2 to join head coach Trevor Bayliss on the new three-man selection panel.
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Smith will also oversee a network of scouts of former players and take input from coaches at the ECB’s national performance centre.
Along with others candidates interviewed — such as former England bowlers Derek Pringle and Mike Selvey, plus current selector Mike Newell — Smith was asked to make a presentation entitled: ‘Selection — art or science?’
Andy Flower, who coached England to No 1 in the world rankings — and who is now in charge of England Lions — was another contender.
England hope a greater use of data will improve selection.
In the past couple of years, batsmen like James Vince, Mark Stoneman, Tom Westley, Keaton Jennings, Alex Hales and Gary Ballance have played Test cricket with modest success. Smith has written regularly about American sport and the value of analysis.
And this approach, a willingness to embrace numbers, has impressed Strauss.
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Smith, a commentator on Test Match Special in recent years, also spent time as a consultant with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL in 2016.
But his appointment will not be welcomed by everybody.
Smith was not universally popular at either of his counties, Kent and Middlesex.
And two years ago he was involved in a plagiarism row when a website took down one of his articles because it bore striking similarities to another piece by another writer.
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