Berry parts ways with South Australia

Darren Berry's tenure as coach of South Australia has ended, with the state confirming they and Berry "have agreed to terms to end the appointment of his position as state coach". It is the second such state announcement of the past week, after Victoria announced they were moving on from coach Greg Shipperd despite the fact the Bushrangers are in the Sheffield Shield final.

Berry has spent four years as coach of South Australia and guided them to the 2010-11 Big Bash title, the last before the BBL was introduced, and they also took out the 2011-12 one-day competition. However, the Redbacks have finished last on the Shield table in all but one of Berry's years in charge - they came third last season - and this season they managed to win only two games.

The move means Berry will also hand over the reins of the Adelaide Strikers, with Jason Gillespie widely expected to take over the Twenty20 role, although he is not believed to be seriously interested in the South Australia job. Keith Bradshaw, the SACA chief executive, said the decision was taken in order to allow "a fresh approach for South Australian cricket".

"While SACA and its bboard recognise the strong performance by the Strikers this summer, our results across the past three seasons in all formats have not been at the standard expected of our elite teams," Bradshaw said. "I want to recognise the contribution Darren has made in his time here; both parties have agreed though that now is the time to look for a new direction."

Berry said: "An amicable separation has been reached in the best interests for all concerned; I accept that the SACA are heading in a new direction and wish the association every success in the future. It has been a privilege over the last four years to have had the opportunity provided to me by the SACA and for that I am grateful."