Gatting's role as selector under threat (3 January 1999)

3 January 1999

Gatting's role as selector under threat

Paul Newman

MIKE Gatting's position as an England selector will come under scrutiny before the summer following his retirement as a player.

It is feared that Gatting's elevation to the role of director of cricket at Middlesex may compromise his ability to be part of England's three-man selection panel as he will spend some time away from first-class cricket.

Gatting's status will be one of the first big issues facing the new-look England Management Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of Brian Bolus, who took over from Bob Bennett on Friday after his election by the counties.

Gatting may even be asked to stand down before the summer, creating a vacancy that could well be filled by a variety of "observers" rather than a straight replacement. It is felt that umpires and county coaches, like Leicestershire's title-winning Jack Birkenshaw, are not being tapped sufficiently for information.

When retirement first loomed for Gatting last summer, it looked as though he would take over coaching the Middlesex second team, making it virtually impossible for him to carry on as a selector. But the political wrangling which made for such an unhappy summer at Lord's ended with John Buchanan, Middlesex's Australian coach, heading for home and Gatting claiming the main job.

Like Gatting, David Graveney may find himself at the centre of debate because of his increasing involvement in a number of roles.

Graveney had seemingly convinced the doubters that he could be both the chairman of selectors and the full-time secretary of the Professional Cricketers Association. Yet, there are figures within EMAC who feel that these roles, together with his position as manager of England's one-day side, crucial in World Cup year, constitute too big a workload. "David has a big part to play but there must be a conflict," said one EMAC member.

Team England, then, are likely to see some interesting administrative upheavals whatever happens in Australia. And at the centre of it will be Bolus, the amiable former England batsman who heads a committee which includes Lord MacLaurin, Tim Lamb, David Acfield, Dennis Amiss and John Barclay.

Treated with suspicion by many among the younger generation who link him with the Ray Illingworth era, Bolus campaigned among the counties to gain his latest appointment and is keen to play down his reputation for indiscretion while proving he is no dinosaur.

Bolus is reluctant to make many public utterings beyond identifying the right structure and correct managerial personnel as the priorities.

He did, however, say that no pressure will be put on David Lloyd to resign as England coach before his contract is up at the end of the summer and named Simon Pack, the International Teams Director, as a man with a bigger role to play in the future. And Bolus is known to dislike the concept of three selectors from the same age group. He and Lord MacLaurin could be in for some healthy exchanges.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)