Richard Bates appointed as England women's coach

The former Nottinghamshire offspinner, Richard Bates, has been named as the new coach of the England Women's team. He takes over from the Australian, John Harmer, who is returning home at the end of the month to take up a new post as a biomechanics specialist at the Australian Cricket Academy.

Bates retired from first-class cricket in 1999, and has since worked for the England and Wales Cricket Board at both regional and national level. He honed his coaching skills during a three-month stint in Australia over the winter, and has recently been working with the Super Strikers, one of the four teams in the elite women's Super Fours competition.

"After benefiting from two years of John Harmer's innovative coaching methods we know we are heading in the right direction," said England's captain, Clare Connor. "We must build on our recent successes and Richard Bates is the man to take the mantle from John. The girls have always responded very positively to Richard and we are all excited about the opportunity to work with him on a full-time basis."

England have two Tests and three one-day internationals against South Africa scheduled for August, and the team is confident after a positive showing against Australia in the Women's Ashes this winter, although they lost the series 1-0. "The England women's team has made significant progress over the past couple of years with John," said Bates. "I'll look to build on the solid foundations which he has laid."