SOMERSET legend Marcus Trescothick is one of six former internationals to have been appointed to the new ECB scouting network.

Trescothick, 42, joins Chris Read, James Taylor, Glen Chapple, Steve Rhodes and Richard Dawson on a panel which will compile reports on potential England players and report to national selector Ed Smith, head coach Trevor Bayliss and an as yet unappointed full-time selector.

None of the scouting panel will be producing reports on players within their own counties.

Andrew Strauss, who is taking time away from his role as England director of cricket to support his wife as she receives treatment for cancer, said the appointments were "formalising a process that has been going on in a more ad hoc manner for a long time."

Strauss added: “They are guys in and around the county game, with real credibility.

“They will be scouting people who aren’t in their team, with a real focus on England’s needs both at home and away from home, and assessing players relative to that.

“One of the central tenets of good player ID is many eyes, many times. You want many different people that might look at it slightly different, looking at different players in different match situations. Having that network allows us to do that better than we have up until now.

“It’s also about having guys who have real discipline-specific roles – so for someone looking at opening batsmen, there aren’t many people in the world better than Marcus Trescothick to be able to judge what’s required at international level."

Trescothick is currently out of action with a broken foot and, having received surgery, is set for further updates on his progress next week.