Alec Stewart's new position as high-performance cricket adviser at Surrey will significantly ease his workload as he prioritizes caring for his wife during her ongoing battle with cancer. The former England captain will conclude his 11-year tenure as the club's director of cricket by the end of the year to allocate more time to his family. His wife, Lynn, has been battling secondary breast cancer for 12 years.
Stewart will assume the new role starting January, for a fixed number of days annually, with the responsibility of sustaining Surrey's success after guiding them to a historic third consecutive County Championship. Speaking about his wife's condition, the 61-year-old shared with the Telegraph: "There are moments that have recently become more challenging. It's a continuous struggle. It's about managing it."
"There are good times, and then the past four weeks have been particularly tough for her. We rely heavily on our oncologist, who has been exceptional since the beginning. Now, I have household chores, cooking, and other responsibilities that I try my best with, though I'm not very skilled at them. It's about two weeks on and two weeks off with chemotherapy, and the oncologist plans to tackle it vigorously, hoping to improve her quality of life. It's all about managing and coping with it, which is what we've always done. She's the brave one."
Stewart, who scored 40,936 runs for Surrey during his 22-year playing career, will continue to collaborate with Surrey's head coach, Gareth Batty, and captain Rory Burns, while also offering advice on the talent development pathway. The club has decided not to appoint a new director of cricket.
"Everyone understands my deep affection for the club and its significance to me. I'm delighted that the club wanted me to continue in this newly created role," said Stewart, whose father, Micky, also played for the county. "With this new setup, I strongly believe we can maintain the recent successes at Surrey."
Surrey confirmed that Stewart's new role will represent a "significant reduction" from his current full-time position. Club chairman Oli Slipper commented: "We fully understood and accepted Alec's decision to step back from his director of cricket role at the beginning of the season, but we always aimed to retain his expertise and influence at Surrey."
"We had fruitful discussions with Alec to find a common ground that benefits both him and the club, and I'm pleased to announce that we've found a role that suits all parties."
