Alec Stewart contemplates coaching role

Alec Stewart is considering a move into coaching when his tenure as England's wicketkeeper comes to an end at the end of the summer. Stewart, who will retire after next month's Oval Test, is out of contract at his club Surrey (for whom he made his debut in 1981), and has already been approached by other counties about his availability in 2004.

Stewart revealed to the Sunday Times that it was the influence of Duncan Fletcher that had fuelled his interest in coaching. "If you had said to me four years ago that I would go into coaching, I would have said no," said Stewart. "But Duncan has been a breath of fresh air in his style of coaching and in the way he looks at the game. He's come to coaching from different angles, and opened my eyes to certain things. You could actually pass that on. It's an option. I've got lots of thinking to do."

It had originally been Stewart's intention to play one last season for Surrey after his international retirement, but he accepts that he may no longer be in their long-term plans. "I'm a Surrey and England player, and in an ideal world that's how I'll finish," said Stewart. "But it may be that Surrey say they can't afford the salaries for all the players we've got, or it doesn't fit in with the young players coming through. Does it fit in with what I may be doing in future? I've got to have that chat with them."

With all the emphasis on youth, particularly where wicketkeepers are concerned, Stewart will probably finish his career as a specialist batsman. He is unlikely to want to stray too far from the family home in Surrey, although the possibility of taking over from John Bracewell at Gloucestershire might be enticing. Gloucester, however, have kept mum on the subject of Bracewell's successor, and links with Bob Woolmer, David Houghton and Mike Gatting have all been denied.