England will look to hire a short-term fast bowling consultant with specialist knowledge of Australian pitches for this winter’s defence of the Ashes.

Ottis Gibson’s departure to become head coach of South Africa has left a vacancy in the set-up seven weeks out from the team’s departure and, with the deadline for applications not until 30 September, a temporary appointment avoids a rush decision on the full-time position.

Trevor Bayliss, the England head coach, has previously used the former Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene as a batting mentor in Asian conditions and stated after the Test series win against West Indies that something similar is being considered for the bowlers in Australia. Shane Bond, the former New Zealand quick, is one name known to be of interest.

England have not hired an English bowling coach for the senior side since Kevin Shine’s brief tenure back in 2006. But while Bayliss is leaning towards an international (and likely overseas name) for the Ashes role, an open mind is being kept for the longer-term spot. Meanwhile it is Shine, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s lead fast bowling coach at Loughborough, who will act as cover in the limited-overs series with West Indies that takes this elongated summer up to 29 September and begins with a one-off Twenty20 at Chester-le-Street on Saturday.

But during this time a number of county coaches will be present at training days also, with Nottinghamshire’s Andy Pick, Chris Silverwood of Essex and Jon Lewis of Sussex among them. Glen Chapple, in his first year as head coach of Lancashire, is hoping to be involved on the match day of England’s first one-dayer at Old Trafford on 19 September but is unavailable for pre‑match practice.

Such guest sessions are not out of the ordinary in the current England regime – Bayliss believes his philosophy is best shared with the counties at the coal face, rather than through PowerPoint presentations in meeting rooms – and in this instance are not seen as trial runs or job interviews for the bowling coach vacancy per se.

They are, however, a chance for both parties to get to know each other and Bayliss confirmed these are coaches who are possibly interested in the position. There are sensitivities around current employers to consider and a significant lifestyle change involved, too.

The current advertisement estimates the position will involve up to 36 weeks a year away from home, which is one of the main hurdles in sourcing the best talent in an era of short-term and well-paid roles in the various domestic Twenty20 leagues around the world.

Even county roles can be more appealing in this regard, with the Surrey head coach, Michael di Venuto, outlining the demands upon his appointment last year when stating that his current position, which sees him away from his family in Australia for half the year, is still less than when he was batting coach of their national team.

Jason Gillespie was previously linked with the bowling coach role but he has turned down the equivalent with Australia before and is currently happy in his position as head coach of Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League while picking up other freelance coaching roles.

Whether the Ashes specialist is Australian remains to be seen – a former international with a strong record in the country will also be considered – and a number of possibles, such as Geoff Lawson and Andy Bichel, are tied down with state teams or part of Cricket Australia’s set-up.