Nasser Hussain leads the race to fill national role

Former captain in line for England team director's post after Strauss rules himself out

Nasser Hussain is currently working as a pundit for Sky Sports (Getty Images)

Nasser Hussain is understood to be the favourite to replace Hugh Morris as the England and Wales Cricket Board's new managing director of the national team following Andrew Strauss's decision to remove himself from the running.

Hussain, who captained England 45 times in Test matches from 1999 to 2003, has applied for the role and is at the top of the ECB's shortlist. The 45-year-old has been working in the media since his retirement from international cricket in 2004.

Hussain is widely credited with rebuilding the England team – in conjuction with coach Duncan Fletcher – during his time as captain. When he took the job in 1999 England were ranked as the worst Test-playing nation but became a force in international cricket again.

Nick Knight, the former England opener and another Sky commentator, has also applied for the role, as has Darren Gough, who took 229 Test wickets for England and is also working in the media.

Peter Moores, the former England coach who led Lancashire to the Second Division title in the County Championship this season, has also put his name in the hat. Moores' spell as England coach came to an inglorious end owing to his inability to work with then captain Kevin Pietersen.

Meanwhile, Pietersen's former colleague in the England side Paul Collingwood will join Scotland's coaching team this winter. The former England international led Durham to the County Championship title this season – their third triumph in six seasons.

Collingwood was also the captain for England's World Twenty20 success in 2010 and is the national side's most capped one-day international player with 197 appearances. His presence in the Scotland camp will be invaluable as they embark on two World Cup qualifying campaigns, for the T20 and ODI global tournaments respectively, between now and February 2014.

The head coach, Peter Steindl, said: "Leading into two vital qualifying events, I was very keen to change things a bit, add a couple of new voices to the coaching team and bring in coaches who had attained success at the very highest levels of the game.

"Paul has been part of successful teams as a player and a captain and it will be great to have his experience and knowledge on board. I am sure he will be a hugely positive influence on the squad as we head into some really important cricket."

Collingwood will work alongside Steindl and fielding coach/performance analyst Toby Bailey, and will play a full part in both the preparation and competition phases this winter.

"I am very excited at the prospect of working with the Scotland squad and look forward to helping the team qualify for both the T20 World Cup and the 2015 Cricket World Cup," he said.