Ed Smith named England national selector

Ed Smith (left) has been a commentator on BBC's Test Match Special since 2012

Former England batsman Ed Smith is the team's new national selector.

Smith replaces James Whitaker, who left the position as part of a restructure in March after five years in the role.

Test Match Special commentator Smith, 40, played three Tests for England and retired in 2008 having also played first-class cricket for Kent and Middlesex, where he was captain.

Smith said "it's an exciting time for English cricket" and the opportunity was "too good to turn down".

He added: "Selection and talent identification have always fascinated me and I've explored extensively how they are evolving."

As national selector Smith will effectively be the chief selector to England's Test, one-day and Twenty20 teams.

Smith will choose another independent selector - someone who is not a county coach or director of cricket - to work alongside him and England coach Trevor Bayliss on a three-man panel.

England will also bring in a scouting system with a minimum of 12 "discipline-specific scouts" who will provide information to the selectors.

"I'm very much looking forward to working with Trevor (head coach Bayliss), Joe (Test captain Root) and Eoin (one-day captain Morgan), as we work towards ensuring that the talent in English cricket feeds into consistent performances in all formats of the game," Smith added.

England director of cricket Andrew Strauss said Smith "stood out" as an "ideal candidate".

"There is real depth to his talent identification knowledge and he's done a great amount of research into the subject," Strauss added.

"He has a rich and varied sum of experiences having played professional cricket for 12 years and having written extensively on cricket and other sports. As well as this he has a strong academic interest in high performance and excellent knowledge of the international game."