Cycling chief Dave Brailsford ‘sounded out’ by Andrew Strauss for English cricket review

Sir Andrew Strauss is leading a review into the state of English cricket following their humiliating defeat by Australia in the Ashes Down Under

Sir Dave Brailsford has reportedly been approached by Sir Andrew Strauss to join a high-performance review panel which will examine the state of English cricket.

Strauss has been tasked with putting together a panel to review the state of English cricket in the wake of their humiliating 4-0 loss to Australia in the Ashes. Recommendations from the review are set to be published in September and could shape a potential restructure of the English game from 2023.

And according to the Telegraph, Strauss has approached cycling chief Brailsford about joining the panel. Brailsford previously worked as performance director of British Cycling and, under his leadership, they topped the cycling medal table at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Brailsford is well-known for his ‘marginal gains’ philosophy and Strauss is said to be an admirer of his methods. The report states that the panel is set to be made up of ‘figures from the business world, the media and sports science and administration, as well as cricket’.

Speaking earlier this week, Strauss said the review is being conducted with the aim of making England “the best in the world in all formats”. He said: “The perception so far is that it’s all about red-ball cricket and that it’s all about the domestic game.

“But the way we’re approaching it, and I believe the only way you can approach these things is to start at the beginning, which is what is the scale of our ambition for the game in this country? And I believe we’re looking very strongly at being the best in the world in all formats.

“I think the knock-on effects, right the way through the game if the shop window is functioning well, are enormous, so as a game we need to get alignment behind that ambition.

“If you take a longer-term perspective on these things you have to say, ‘How can the two teams run concurrently alongside each other?’ and ‘How do we best support our white- and red-ball specialists to allow that to happen?’

“We want recommendations to be signed off in time for the 2023 domestic season so that really means by the end of September this year ideally. You could stretch it a bit but these projects can get very broad and you can get stuck. So it’s important to focus on people’s minds. If we’re going to do it we’ve got to do it for 2023.”

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