Alec Stewart takes temporary leave of absence from Surrey cricket
Surrey County Cricket Club’s director of cricket Alec Stewart will take a temporary leave of absence from the London club.
The former England captain will step away from the Oval due to the illness of his wife, Lynn, who has been fighting cancer for nearly a decade.
Surrey chief executive Steve Elworthy will take on Stewart’s duties on an interim basis.
“All of our thoughts are with Alec, Lynn and the family and we wish them the very best,” Elworthy said in a statement.
“The club will fully support Alec and the family through this leave of absence and ask everyone to please respect his request for privacy.”
Stewart has been director of cricket at Surrey since 2014 and has seen the county win the domestic championship twice while in the role.
The club, based in south London, also won the Division Two title in 2015.
Stewart played 133 Test matches and scored nearly 8,500 runs.
Surrey begin the 2023 County Championship away to Lancashire on Thursday 6 April with their first home game a week later against Hampshire at the Oval.
The side will also take part in the 2023 Vitality Blast as well as the One Day Cup.
The Oval will also host matches in the third season of The Hundred.