Alec Stewart’s reign in charge of county champions Surrey is not over – but it will take a different shape.

The 61-year-old signalled his intention to stand down as director of cricket back in April, citing the precarious health of his wife Lynn and desire to spend more time with his family.

But the man hailed as “irreplaceable” by head coach Gareth Batty has proved just that and Stewart will move to a new scaled-down role as high-performance cricket advisor, with no new director of cricket appointed.

“Alec has played a pivotal role in the success of the club over many years, not just lifting trophies but the conveyor belt of talent which has progressed through our talent pathway,” explained chief executive Steve Elworthy.

“That he will continue to shape the men’s professional set-up, albeit in a changed role, is brilliant for the club.”

Surrey’s desire to keep Stewart involved is understandable. When he took charge in late 2013, the club had been relegated for the third time in eight years. Stewart set out his agenda for a rebuilding programme, returning to County Championship Division One in 2015, winning the title in 2018 and going on to monopolise the summit for the past three years – the first time a hat-trick has been achieved for more than half a century.

At the same time, Surrey have produced a string of talented players, two of whom – wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith and fast bowler Gus Atkinson – made spectacular arrivals on the international stage by helping England to win five out of six Tests this summer.

Club chairman Oli Slipper said: “We completely understood and accepted Alec’s decision to step back from his role at the start of the season but we always wanted to retain his expertise and his impact.”

Batty, skipper Rory Burns and others in the structure which Stewart has built over his decade in charge will be expected to fill gaps as required.

Stewart added: “Everyone knows my love of the club and what it means to me – therefore I’m very pleased that they wanted me to continue in this new role which has been created.

“I firmly believe that we can continue the success at Surrey that we’ve seen in recent years.”

To do that, they will need to continue to strengthen a squad which is continually supplying England in all formats.

Fast bowler Conor McKerr, who joined the club in 2016, has moved to Nottinghamshire while batter Ben Geddes is switching to Middlesex, both having had restricted opportunities.

Ryan Patel, who scored vital centuries in wins over Essex and Durham at the Kia Oval last season, has been awarded his county cap.

Burns paid tribute to his side after completing their hat-trick of County Championship titles.

“I’m very proud of what this side have achieved over the past few years,” said Burns.

“To win it once is a very hard thing to do. To win it three times in a row is incredibly impressive.

“I think the motivation at the start of every season is that when you’ve done it once, you want to do it again and you know the target is on your back. We’ve dressed it in different ways in trying to attack it but we’ll sit on three in a row for a bit and then we’ll think about next year in due course.”

By Richard Spiller