Tough decisions may loom for Australia’s first fulltime cricket selector Greg Chappell, but he insists “there’s no rush to push anyone out the door”.
The former Test captain said he was ready to make the big calls after being appointed to the official role of national talent manager by Cricket Australia (CA) on Monday.
“It comes with the territory,” said Chappell, who ended Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy during his time as Indian cricket coach.
And with skipper Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Simon Katich all aged 35, Chappell may have to make the big calls sooner rather than later in his new role.
But Chappell added: “You have to earn the right to play for Australia, that’s something the whole selection panel is conscious of, and will bear in mind going forward.
“There’s no rush to push anyone out the door.”
But there will be a departure on the national selection panel.
The make-up of the new-look four-strong panel will be decided at a CA board meeting in October.
So Chappell’s arrival means either Merv Hughes, Jamie Cox or David Boon will step down – Australian chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch is contracted until the 2011 World Cup.
On Hilditch’s future, CA general manager cricket Michael Brown said on Monday: “He’s really excited about what he’s doing and we’ve got a huge challenge ahead in the next eight months.
“We haven’t had any discussions about his position beyond that.
“He’s starting a business on his own, so he’s a pretty busy person, but he’s managed the two roles (previously).”
Chappell will be the public face of the national selectors when he relocates from Brisbane to Melbourne for the role which also includes talent ID and working closely with state associations.
Chappell will vacate his current position as the head coach of the centre of excellence in Brisbane.
“Any cricket team is always a work in progress and you like to keep that regeneration going as much as possible,” Chappell said.
“You also need some experience in that group as well.
“We are very fortunate that we have a very experienced group of senior players, a few in the middle bracket and a few younger ones coming through.
“It gives me a pretty good feel for what’s out there and what is required for the next couple of years.”
It will mark Chappell’s second stint as a national selector.
“I enjoyed the role as a selector in the mid-80s to late-80s, I only really gave it away due to family and business commitments,” he said.
“We were reasonably successful coming out of a pretty lean time at that stage.
“I’d like to think I played some small part of that.”
He was part of the panel that appointed Allan Border as captain and was involved in compiling the 1987 World Cup-winning squad.
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