Peter Moores will be removed as the England head coach on Saturday ahead of the expected appointment of Andrew Strauss as the new director of cricket. It is understood that Moores’ second spell in charge of the national team will be ended after 13 months while the arrival of Strauss is slated to be confirmed early next week by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The news, which the ECB refused to deny, came as Moores was overseeing Friday’s rain-hit one-day international against Ireland in Malahide, a fixture on which Strauss was due to commentate for Sky Sports before deciding to stay away so as to avoid questions on the subject.

While the full job description for the director of England cricket, which was created by the ECB chief executive, Tom Harrison, following the removal of Paul Downton as managing director last month, has yet to be revealed by the ECB, the hiring and firing of coaching staff will sit under the remit of the new man.

Sky all but confirmed the open secret about Strauss’s appointment at the start of their programme, with the presenter Ian Ward explaining: “It is highly likely that he will be the new cricket director, and if that appointment does go ahead it will be announced next week.”

The departure of Moores will be a blow to the Test captain, Alastair Cook, and Cook’s continuation in that capacity remains up in the air. This initial decisive move certainly demonstrates that Strauss’s tenure will not be one to take the cautious route that many have tipped.

Eoin Morgan, who missed the Ireland game after being allowed to play in the Indian Premier League, may also be removed from the one-day captaincy with Joe Root the expected replacement.

Speculation about Moores’ future has grown since Colin Graves was elected to take over as the ECB chairman and amid dwindling results. After returning to the position in April 2014, five years after his first spell in charge, Moores has overseen 22 defeats in 42 matches across all formats, including Friday’s match in Ireland.

His reputation as a developer of young talent is well-earned and he remains a popular figure among the senior players but after a disastrous World Cup campaign, in which England lost all four of their group games against full-member opposition, and the drawn series in the Caribbean against West Indies, change was always likely.

Graves’ five-year term at the head of English cricket starts next Friday and Jason Gillespie, his title-winning head coach at Yorkshire, has been continually linked with the England role in the past two months despite distancing himself publicly.

Gillespie, the former Australia fast bowler, has already agreed to combine his current role at Headingley with a winter position as the head coach of Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, but an international opportunity could trump this. It is understood Strauss’s old Middlesex team-mate and former Australia opener Justin Langer could similarly be sounded out about replacing Moores but his family situation may see him remain in charge of Western Australia. When contacted by the Guardian he insisted no conversations have taken place to date.

Gillespie, who has also been linked with the India job, later told the Adelaide Advertiser: “Any opportunity that comes up you obviously look at. It is flattering but I still have a job to do.”

How swiftly Strauss is able to secure Moores’ successor remains to be seen. The first Test against New Zealand, which begins at Lord’s on 21 May, is less than a fortnight away and the assistant coach, Paul Farbrace, could be asked to step forward as caretaker. The former Kent director of cricket, who was also on Yorkshire’s staff as recently as 2013, is well respected at the ECB and has previously coached internationally with Sri Lanka.

Strauss’s fellow Sky commentator Nick Knight, the former England batsman, has been rumoured to come into the new set-up in a limited-overs capacity, which is expected to draw on the experience of more former internationals – something Moores lacked from his own playing career.

Knight insists Strauss will not bring a conservative approach to England’s cricket and admits he has sympathy for Moores’ expected departure, especially given the 4,000-mile trip he made from Barbados to Dublin via London to take charge of the Ireland game in which five players made their one-day debut.

“I think there’s a view that it’ll be a cautious appointment, but I don’t see that at all,” Knight told Sky Sports. “He’s not just going to sit back and let the course unfold with the same captain and the same coach, I think he’ll look at the changes he can make. When this unfolds, I think we’ll see a new Andrew Strauss.”

Knight added: “I feel desperately sorry for Peter. The fact he’s here today says a lot about him. He could have stayed at home, but he wants to be out there.

“He’s desperately keen to be involved in this setup. He genuinely feels that he is taking this team forward. I would have to disagree. With the results we’ve had, particularly with the World Cup and the series in the West Indies, I feel there’s some international pedigree missing from this England set-up.”

The former England coach David Lloyd added: “I think Strauss is an extremely good man. He’s got many challenges. I think this is a great opportunity for English cricket to move forward. One of his challenges is to get the one-day side in shape.”

The contenders

Jason Gillespie

The former Australia fast bowler, 40, has been widely tipped to succeed Peter Moores having won a first title for Yorkshire in 13 years last summer under the leadership of the incoming ECB chairman, Colin Graves. Gillespie’s strengths lie in empowering players to express themselves but he has recently agreed to take charge of the Adelaide Strikers in Australia’s Big Bash League, in addition to his role at Headingley and that could prove a stumbling block.

Verdict Favourite for the role given success at Yorkshire

Justin Langer

Another Australian, the former Test opener has been in charge at West Australia since the end of 2012 and has won two Big Bash titles in his role as head coach of the Perth Scorchers. Langer has long been seen as the natural successor to Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann and his family situation could see him rule out a move to England. But Andrew Strauss is known to be an admirer since their time together at Middlesex where they were opening partners.

Verdict Will be sounded out, but upheaval of moving from Perth home may rule him out

Paul Collingwood

While the former England all-rounder remains the captain of Durham, he was a key man in Strauss’s Test team, has a canny one-day cricket brain and the respect of the current side. Collingwood has built up his coaching experience on the side, too, having enjoyed two spells in the Scotland setup – including the recent World Cup – but may be reluctant to leave Chester-le-street mid-season.

Verdict Outsider but could be turned to should Strauss want to appoint an Englishman