Mickey Arthur drafted into new coaches panel to mend England’s ties with county cricket

Mickey Arthur, the former South Africa and Pakistan head coach, is one of four appointments to England’s new County Insight Group as the national team seeks to repair relations with the domestic game in the wake of last winter’s Ashes defeat.

Among the recommendations from the internal Ashes review that saw Rob Key and Brendon McCullum remain as director of cricket and men’s head coach respectively was improved dialogue with the county game, not least regarding selection.

The sense previously was that England were not interested in the views of those on the shop floor. Paul Farbrace, head coach at Sussex, previously summed up the moodas: “There has almost been a feeling in county cricket that: ‘We’re not bothered whether England are doing well or not,’ and that saddens me.”

To that end Key has appointed four county head coaches – Arthur, Richard Dawson, Alan Richardson and Anthony McGrath – to sit on a new panel that will meet the England hierarchy three or four times a season. The intention is to provide feedback and background on players identified by the scouting network.

Speaking at the Ashes review in March, Key said: “I never wanted to be feeling like England was meddling with the county game. And, actually, that was a mistake. There’s a way that we can work together better.

“[We want] feedback coming in about the character of players, what they’re like under pressure. So I hope [the insight group] is going to enhance what we do from a selection point of view and also feel like there’s a connection to the county game.”

McCullum spoke to county head coaches via Zoom at the start of the season but is not slated to be part of the panel. Instead, it will consist of Key, performance director Ed Barney and David Court, the head of player ID, plus the national selector that is currently in the process of being recruited.

Arthur, currently at Derbyshire, represents the most high-profile appointment, bringing experience from past international roles with South Africa, Pakistan and Australia. Dawson, head coach at Glamorgan, has previously held roles in the international pathway, including the Lions, and is currently an England scout.

Richardson, head coach at Worcestershire, and McGrath, director of cricket at Yorkshire, are similarly highly thought of and both had short-term roles as assistant England coaches when the Covid-19 pandemic demanded additional support staff.

These four county representatives will not be selecting but rather informing the process, with the new national selector to be part of a separate panel that also includes the relevant men’s captain – currently Ben Stokes and Harry Brook – plus Key, Barney, Court, McCullum and Andrew Flintoff, the Lions’ head coach.