Surrey’s Alec Stewart takes a break from cricket to look after his wife

Alec Stewart has taken temporary leave from his role as manager of Surrey cricket to look after his wife, Lynn, as she begins a new round of treatment for the cancer she was first diagnosed with in 2013 .

“In order to take care of his wife and family during this difficult time, Alec has decided to take a temporary step away from his daily duties,” Surrey said in a statement.

Steve Elworthy, chief executive of Surrey, will take over as interim director of cricketing functions. “All of our thoughts are with Alec, Lynn and the family and we wish them the best,” Elworthy said. “The Club will fully support Alec and the family throughout this leave and ask everyone to respect his request for confidentiality.”

Stewart, who played 133 Tests for England and made 266 first-class appearances for Surrey during a 22-year senior playing career, has been married to Lynn since 1991. He retired from first-class cricket in 2003 and was appointed Executive Director of the Oval in 2011 and has been Director of Cricket since 2014. Under his stewardship Surrey won promotion to Division Two of the County Championship the following year and won the title at two times, including last year.

Last March, after being considered among the favorites for the then-vacant post of England Men’s Cricket General Manager at England and Wales locust Council, he withdrew from the selection process for unspecified family reasons. Rob Key, who eventually got the job, then tried to sign Stewart as England head coach but again decided against it, with Luke Wright appointed instead.

Meanwhile, Gary Ballance, the 33-year-old former England batsman who is set to make a second international debut for his native country later this month after being named in the Zimbabwe squad on Wednesday for their series of three ODI games against Ireland, accepted all five Cricket Disciplinary Committee charges he had faced over allegations of racist behavior in Yorkshire. He will no longer need to appear for the commission hearings which, after they were postponed last November, are expected to be rescheduled in the spring.