MORE than two decades after resigning as a Test selector, cricket great Greg Chappell may be poised for a shock re-appearance as Australia’s first fulltime selector. The former Test skipper and ex-Indian coach will be interviewed this week for the newly created position which includes the role as national talent scout.
Current selection boss Andrew Hilditch has not applied for the wide-ranging job but will remain as chairman of the selection panel until at least the end of the World Cup in the subcontinent next year.
The selection panel shake-up is another sign of the winds of change which are sweeping through Australian cricket.
Hilditch has won high praise for guiding Australia through generational change including rebuilding after the retirements of Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden.
But he has also come under heavy public criticism for juggling his selection role and his high-powered job as an Adelaide lawyer – and there was a feeling that having a fulltime selector must be a priority.
Chappell is currently coach of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane and the 62-year-old’s vast experience and unparalleled cricket pedigree should make him the frontrunner for the new role which includes being a media spokesman for the selection panel.
If Chappell gets the nod over other candidates – thought to include current national selector Jamie Cox – one of Australian cricket’s best known figures will have gone full circle.
In 1988, an angry Chappell quit the selection panel and cut all links to cricket after becoming disillusioned with the “archaic structure and mentality” of the then cricket administration.
He has since had several coaching stints, spending some time with South Australia, before having a troubled two-year tenure as Indian coach which ended after they flopped out of the World Cup in 2007.
Cricket Australia manager Michael Brown said the new role was designed to help professionalise the panel.
“The creation of the position is a wonderful step for the professionalism of Australian cricket,” Brown said.
“We expect this person to play a key role in managing senior Australian teams and being available to communicate with current players and those who have been identified as potential Australian players.”
In February Chappell turned down an approach to coach Pakistan who failed to win a game in Australia last summer.
Meanwhile, Shaun Tait has officially turned his back on Test cricket, confirming he won’t consider an Ashes comeback even if asked by selectors.