THE queue of ex players hoping for a job as England cricket selector has stretched to nine with Geoff Miller and Chris Cowdrey emerging as the latest candidates for one of the more thankless tasks in British sport.

The two former England allrounders were the final nominations ahead of the deadline on Wednesday at midnight, leaving the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) just a wicketkeeper and an opening bowler short of a respectable team.

Miller played 34 times for England between 1977 and 1984, while Cowdrey, appeared in all five Tests on the tour of India in 1984 and captained England for a one off Test against West Indies in 1988.

With only two positions vacant, four former England captains - Graham Gooch, Ian Botham, John Edrich and Cowdrey - are standing, as are former internationals Fred Titmus, Kim Barnett, Brian Bolus and Miller.

Left arm spinner David Graveney, who did not win a test cap, is the final candidate.