STEVE Rhodes is back in cricket as an England selection scout four months after leaving Worcestershire. 

The long-serving director of cricket exited New Road under a cloud amid allegations he hid Alex Hepburn’s rape charge from the club.

Rhodes had overseen the promotion of Worcestershire into Division One of the County Championship at the end of 2017 but was stood down and replaced by Kevin Sharp. 

Former internationals Marcus Trescothick, James Taylor, Richard Dawson, Glen Chapple and Chris Read are the other scouts nominated for similar posts under a new England selection system. 

“The idea is for us to get better information on all the players playing in county cricket,” said England's director of cricket Andrew Strauss. 

“This is not what some people think it is around loads of data and statistics. This is about getting qualitative information on what England’s needs are.

“They will be compiling reports on players of interest to us but those involved with counties won’t be compiling reports on their own players. 

“It is about formalising a process that has been going on in a more ad hoc way before.”