Last week, the ECB’s presentation of their review into England’s 4-1 Ashes loss featured plenty of introspection but little action. This was perhaps best demonstrated when managing director Rob Key addressed the board’s hunt for a new national selector.

“It’s not a job that lots of people are ringing me saying, ‘Can I have that job?’,” Key explained. “Or the ones that I see touted around; yeah, we speak to those guys … they don’t say yes!”

Last week, an official advert went out for the job. The window for applications closes on April 17, but given that that is the start of the third round of the County Championship – with a total of seven to come before the first Test against New Zealand on June 4 – Key wants his man in position as soon as possible.

“The selector role, you just try and find the best person and help them work as optimally as they can,” he said. “The first thing you look for is someone who’s going to influence our decision making as much as anything else. And you have a process and you try and work that out, or who ends up being the best person (to apply).”

It should be a coveted role. Along with performance director Ed Barney and player identification lead David Court, the national selector will be involved in all six layers of the men’s selection structure, ranging from domestic scouting to final XI selection. It is also understood to pay £150,000 a year.

But as Key himself knows, having stepped back from a prominent role in the media to take up the MD job four years ago, the ECB’s biggest hurdle could be the need to persuade a number of their preferred candidates to relinquish their cushy gigs – and remuneration – in order to do their national duty, because any attempt to maintain their media work would be a clear conflict of interest. Lydia Greenway, for instance, no longer commentates on women’s cricket since becoming England women’s national selector last year.

It might seem lazy to compile a shortlist dominated by those seen on television or heard on the radio. But the very reasons why they occupy those positions – as astute observers and good communicators, with international experience – are a cross-over with what the governing body is seeking.

Another issue for the ECB could be the extent of the responsibility that the successful applicant would command. “The selection committee has to welcome challenge – otherwise it’s pointless paying someone for the job,” said one potential candidate. What is clear is that, at the very least, a new national selector will be encouraged to prompt and challenge more than Wright who, through no real fault of his own, ended up with the remit of a glorified scout.

Key stated on Monday there would be consequences for underperformance, and in the course of his various media engagements, he name-checked Glamorgan batter Asa Tribe and Essex seamer Sam Cook, suggesting alternatives to those in England’s first-choice Test XI are being sought. As such, the weight of the incumbent’s say should prove to be greater that it has previously been in this administration, perhaps akin to the high status that Ed Smith occupied as chief selector between 2018 and 2021.

Smith was considered to have a surprising influence on Joe Root’s final XIs, although it is unlikely the new man will wield that kind of power with Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes still at the helm. Currently, Stokes, McCullum and Key hold the voting rights in selection meetings, with Stokes having the final say for XIs, but that will be reviewed in the coming weeks. Presumably, the stature of the chosen selector will determine whether they too are entrusted with a vote.

Regardless of whether they receive that privilege or not, the opportunity to play a substantial role in the rebuilding of English cricket should still prove enticing. The upside from the depths of the winter are clear, and the opportunity to ride in as the hero could not be easier. Now, the challenge is to find someone who wants it.