Marcus North replaces Luke Wright as England's national selector

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced former Australian all-rounder Marcus North as the Men’s National Selector, replacing Luke Wright, who stepped down from the role due to personal reasons.

North has represented Australia 21 times in Test cricket. He joins from Durham, where he was serving as director of cricket. He is set to contribute to the selection of all England men's squads, from the senior teams through to the Lions and Young Lions programmes.

“We were really pleased with

the strength and depth of candidates throughout what was a thorough and rigorous process for the National Selector role. Marcus stood out through his knowledge of the domestic game, his experience across different environments and the relationships he has built throughout county cricket over a long period of time," England Men's Managing Director Rob Key said in an official statement.

“He has been heavily involved in the county game for many years, both as a player and more recently during eight successful years as Director of Cricket at Durham, where he has earned huge respect across the game. Marcus also brings international pedigree from his time playing for Australia, and we believe his experience and understanding of the player pathway and high performance environment will be a real asset to England Men’s cricket.”

North took over at Durham in 2018 and oversaw the club's promotion to Division One of the County Championship in 2022. In his new role, North will be tasked with overseeing cricket through the English summer and collaborating with efforts related to scouting, succession planning, and work regarding England's central contracts. He is also to work with the ECB science and medicine team on player availability, workload management and programme planning.

“I am absolutely delighted to be appointed England Men’s National Selector. It is a tremendous honour to be entrusted with a role of such responsibility, and I am excited to contribute to the continued development of the England Men’s teams. Having spent the past several years working closely within the county game, I have seen first-hand the strength and depth of talent across the domestic system. I’m looking forward to working closely with the counties in identifying, supporting and selecting players who can thrive at International level," North said.
 
“The opportunity to help shape the future of England Men’s teams is one I’m incredibly passionate about. I’m excited to get started working closely with Rob, Brendon, Ben, Harry and the wider performance team in building squads that can compete consistently and successfully across all formats," he added.

England announced their squad for the first Test against New Zealand, set to commence on June 4 at Lord's. Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope have been dropped from the squad, with new inclusions including the uncapped trio of Emilio Gay, Sonny Baker and James Rew. Fast bowler Ollie Robinson has returned to the squad after his axe in 2024.