Paul Farbrace to leave Warwickshire at end of 2022 season

Paul Farbrace will step down from his role as Warwickshire's head of sport at the end of the current season.

Farbrace joined Warwickshire in 2019, after five years as England men's assistant coach, and oversaw the club's County Championship title success in 2021. But with his family based in Kent, he has decided to look for opportunities that will take him closer to home.

"We knew Paul was one of the best cricketing brains in world cricket when we recruited him, and that's been demonstrated in the way our elite squad has developed, but his work developing youngsters has also been impressive," Stuart Cain, Warwickshire's chief executive, said.

"He's created a very strong foundation for the future. Much of this is down to the excellent relationships he's built at recreational clubs and schools across the region, and this is something we shall build on in future.

"Paul will stay with us for the completion of the season as we focus on the coming County Championship fixtures and help us with the early stages of recruiting his replacement.

"We have appointed a specialist recruiter to help find a candidate with the skills to keep pushing us forward and will announce more on this in due course, but today is about celebrating Paul's achievements during his time with Warwickshire."

Farbrace was widely credited with helping to turn around England's fortunes, in partnership with Trevor Bayliss, but moved into more of a management role with Warwickshire ahead of the 2019 summer.

He was responsible for appointing Mark Robinson as the club's head coach in 2021, following the removal of Jim Troughton, and the new structure brought about immediate success as Warwickshire won the Championship for the first time since 2012, as well as the Bob Willis Trophy.

The club has also taken steps to improve its talent identification and academy set-up, with a greater number of locally scouted players gaining first-team exposure.

Farbrace said: "It's been a great four years and I would have stayed longer, but with my family in Kent, it's time for me to focus on them and look at other opportunities.

"It's been a great privilege to work at Edgbaston, for Warwickshire County Cricket Club, and with some incredibly dedicated and driven people, who really do make it such a very special place."

Farbrace, who has previously worked at Kent and Yorkshire and had a spell in charge of Sri Lanka before taking the England assistant job, has retained an interest in coaching, taking the helm with Team Abu Dhabi at last year's Abu Dhabi T10.