Former England selector Ed Smith takes on new role with ECB

Ed Smith is currently president of the MCC (Getty)

The former England batter and selector Ed Smith is set to join the board of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as a non-executive director.

Smith won three Test caps as a player before serving as national selector for the England men’s team between 2018 and 2021, a period that included World Cup success on home soil.

The 48-year-old, who has also worked as a columnist and commentator, is now primed for a new role as the ECB bids to add extra cricketing expertise to its board. Smith scored more than 17,000 runs in domestic cricket for Middlesex and Kent, and is currently serving a one-year term as president of the MCC.

Provided his appointment is ratified at the ECB annual general meeting in May, Smith will take up his role in October. He will replace Baroness Zahida Manzoor, who has reached the end of her three-year term.

“I am delighted to be joining the ECB Board,” Smith said. “Having been involved in the England Men’s set up before as National Selector, I am pleased to be able to contribute again to English cricket, this time as a Non-Executive Director. It is an extremely important period for both the England Men’s and Women’s teams and I am looking forward to working with [chair] Richard Thompson and the Board."

Smith’s former position as selector is currently vacant following the departure of Luke Wright. Wright had assumed the role in November 2022, but stepped down in January in the wake of England’s Ashes defeat to Australia.

The role was recently advertised on LinkedIn, with the ECB expressing a desire for candidates to have “significant professional experience and intimate knowledge of International and First Class Cricket”. Applications have now closed, and former captain Alastair Cook has ruled himself out.