Joe Root to remain England Test captain as Graham Thorpe becomes latest post-Ashes casualty

GEORGE DOBELL: Andrew Strauss' shake-up of the men's team continues with the departure of the batting coach but there will be no change of skipper for the upcoming West Indies series

Graham Thorpe has become the third casualty of England’s Ashes debacle but Joe Root will continue to captain the Test side.

Thorpe, assistant coach with responsibility for batting, has been sacked following the 4-0 defeat which saw England fail to reach 300 in a single innings. 

He was also responsible for the police being called to the team hotel after lighting a cigar inside as the teams wound down following the completion of the final Test, compounding the mistake by videoing and then sharing the incident.

Thorpe joins Chris Silverwood, the former England head coach, and Ashley Giles, the former managing director of England’s men’s teams, as casualties of a grim year of Test results. 

The decisions were announced by Andrew Strauss at Lord’s on Friday (February 4). But Strauss, who assumed the interim role of managing director when Giles was sacked, confirmed he would not be seeking the role full time.

Instead, he intends to appoint a new interim head coach within the next few days who will help select the Test squad for the Caribbean. England are scheduled to depart in about three weeks. 

Strauss will also be involved in recruiting a new managing director of the men’s teams. That managing director will then play a part in selecting the new permanent head coach.

Or coaches. Among the changes Strauss will consider is whether the coaching role should be split and whether the role of national selection, made redundant by Giles less than a year ago, should be revived. 

^{Root has "incredible motivation and energy" to lead the Test team, says Strauss (Steve Bell/Getty Images)}

“Joe Root will be captain of the side in the West Indies,” Strauss confirmed. “Having spoken to him it is absolutely clear the extent of his commitment to taking this side forward.

"He has incredible motivation and energy to do that. He is bruised hugely disappointed by what went on in the Ashes but he has the respect of the players. So I will give him my full support and make sure he has right structure around him to take pressure off him.

“Everyone knows my own personal situation and that that has prevented me, up until now, from taking a high-profile role and nothing's really changed at this point.

"You know, my boys are still growing up and they need their dad around. So I'm always keen to help English cricket going forward and this role is manageable. If there are further roles in the future that are manageable, I’m happy to talk about that.

“But we are looking for a permanent managing director and they will pick the next head coach.

“In terms of the selection structure, my view is the current structure puts an impossible strain on the England head coach.

“I don’t think there are very many at all who believe the domestic structure is best suited to producing international cricketers."

"And I think we've got to ask ourselves the question: what is the right structure to ensure that we've got best-practice decision-making both in terms of squad selection and with the final 11.

“So, I personally feel like someone who's got an outside view who can check and challenge the thoughts within the dressing room is a healthy thing.

"I understand where Ashley Giles was going around clarity on decision making, but I feel like there is a way forward that does involve some sort of independent view on that. Whether it's going straight back to the system we had before or not remains to be seen.”

Justin Langer has emerged as one of the early candidates to replace Silverwood, as uncertainly grows over his contract with Australia that expires in June.

Strauss added: “Now let's take a step back. What are we looking for? Are we looking for split coaches or one coach? And what are the requirements in each of those formats, so to speak, and Justin Langer. I know him well.

"On the surface, he's done a very good job of that with the Australian team. So I wouldn't rule him out, but I'm sure there are plenty of others as well.”

One man who will be going nowhere, however, is Tom Harrison. The ECB chief executive has seen colleagues, including the former chair, resign or be sacked in recent months, but has retained his position. It might be noted that Harrison is due to receive a significant bonus from the ECB in the coming weeks. 

^{Interim managing director Strauss has called for a review into the domestic game (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

“I'm here because I think when times are really difficult, you need people to step into that challenge,” Harrison said. “And I am here to do that.

"I've never been more determined to do that. I'm not running away from this challenge. It has been exceptionally difficult.

“But I'm not running away, because it needs leadership and it needs consistency in terms of how we how we build back and get to a place where the game can recover from an extremely difficult period, both on and off the field.”

Strauss also confirmed that he has called for a “full, independent review into the role and structure of the domestic game” with a “particular focus on its suitability to produce international cricketers.”

The ECB board is highly likely to confirm that review, who will lead it and its terms of reference, next week. But Strauss’ call for “bold” and “radical” solutions may have some at the ‘smaller’ counties sitting nervously. 

“I would say that I have spoken to a lot of people in and around the game over the last 18 months,” Strauss said.

“I don’t think there are very many at all who believe the domestic structure is best suited to producing international cricketers. A lot of the analysis when you look at the international and domestic game backs that up as well.

“We need to be ambitious, we need to be bold and be prepared to be radical in the solution to those issues.”