Andrew Strauss sets five-year goal for England men’s side to rule all formats

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Sir Andrew Strauss aims to make the England men’s team “the best in the world at all formats” within the next five years.

The former England captain and director of cricket is overseeing a high performance review into English cricket, with Sir Dave Brailsford and Dan Ashworth among a “wide range of experts” taking part.

While England are one-day international world champions and ranked second in 50-over and T20 cricket, the red-ball side are bottom of the World Test Championship, winning just one of their last 17 matches.

Sir Dave Brailsford will be involved in the ECB high performance review (Martin Rickett/PA)
Sir Dave Brailsford will be involved in the ECB high performance review (Martin Rickett/PA)

A wide-ranging investigation will look into domestic structures and whether the county system properly prepares England sides for international cricket but Strauss insisted there are “no hidden agendas”.

He wrote on the England and Wales Cricket Board website: “We want to set an ambitious and clear goal – to become the best in the world at all formats of the men’s game within the next five years.

“We’re prepared to question everything we’re currently doing and ask ‘is there a better way of doing it?’ I make no apology for wanting to be bold. This includes looking outwards to see what we can learn from other sports. A wide range of experts are giving us their insight as part of this.

“I read a lot of speculation about the domestic competition structure. Of course, this is an important part of the picture, but it’s not the only part. The review is designed to look at the high performance system in its entirely, including the England men’s pathway and our high performance set-up.

“And let’s be clear – we have no pre-built solution. At this stage the project is only just starting. There are no hidden agendas. I wouldn’t be bothering to carry out a review if I was already sitting here with specific proposals for change.”

Strauss wants proposals that can be voted on by September to give the counties and England time to prepare for any changes that could come into force ahead of the 2023 season.

Brailsford, currently the director of sport at cycling team Ineos, is the former performance director of British Cycling, while Ashworth is the ex-Football Association director of elite development.

The pair are being joined on the evaluation by Kate Baker, director of performance at UK Sport, Simon Timson, Manchester City’s performance director and Penny Hughes, ex-chair of Aston Martin.

Dan Ashworth is also part of the review (Gareth Fuller/PA)
Dan Ashworth is also part of the review (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The ECB’s director of men’s cricket Rob Key, Durham director of cricket Marcus North, Professional Cricketers’ Association operations director Daryl Mitchell and England men’s performance director Mo Bobat are the the figures from within the sport who will be involved in the assessment.

Strauss intends to speak to more people in the next few weeks to gain an understanding of views from different backgrounds and hear from supporters, as well as engaging with those from the domestic game who can “check and challenge the process”.

Strauss added: “I believe we can all work together through this review to achieve a shared goal – because ultimately we all want our England teams to be successful.

“And that success isn’t just for the sake of it, it’s for the good of the whole game because international success helps grow the sport of cricket in England and Wales.”

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