Alec Stewart 'rejects England selector job' as Rob Key favourite opts to stay at Surrey

Alec Stewart has reportedly pulled out of the running to become England's national selector, with the 59-year-old deciding to remain with Surrey.

Managing Director of England Men's Cricket Rob Key has decided to reintroduce the role after his predecessor, Ashley Giles, abolished it by making Ed Smith redundant last year and handing then head coach Chris Silverwood full charge of selection.

Applications for the job closed last month and it was widely reported that Stewart, who helped Surrey win a 21st County Championship title this year as their Director of Cricket, was the frontrunner.

However, both the Cricketer and the Telegraph now report that Stewart has withdrawn from the running despite being Key's preferred candidate. Stewart is said to have asked for time to consider whether he wanted the job before deciding to remain at Surrey.

It is not the first time the England legend, who played 133 Tests and 170 ODIs across a stellar 14-year international career, has rejected the chance to work with England. In 2019, he was a frontrunner to replace Trevor Bayliss as head coach, but pulled out due to family reasons and Silverwood was appointed instead.

Stewart was also in the running for Key's job earlier this year, but withdrew for similar reasons. The national selector role was thought to be more appealing to the 59-year-old as he would have needed to spend less time away from his family, but Stewart has decided to turn down the job.

Stewart was reportedly the preferred candidate of Managing Director of England Men's Cricket Rob Key (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

The Telegraph state that ex-England all-rounder Mark Alleyne was interviewed for the post last week, having also worked as an assistant coach during the recent ODI series against the Netherlands.

Ashes hero Steve Harmison has also publicly confirmed his interest in the role, telling the Following On: County Cricketer podcast in June: "I would love to be part of this new regime. If it became possible I would jump at the chance.

"I would be quite keen to have a conversation to see if that would be good that I could do to help the England cricket team. If not, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it."