Coyle to coach Hurricanes

Tasmania's head coach Tim Coyle will double up as the coach of the Hobart Hurricanes in this summer's Twenty20 Big Bash League, replacing Ali de Winter after he took up the job of bowling coach for Australia.

Coyle's appointment means the Hurricanes' coaching structure will mirror that of the Perth Scorchers, Adelaide Strikers and Brisbane Heat, all mentored by the coach of each city's respective state team.

Highly regarded for his work with Tasmania, Coyle said he wanted to add T20 silverware to the limited overs and Sheffield Shield titles he has already won with Tasmania.

"Tasmania and the Hurricanes have been involved in T20 final action but we have never claimed the title," Coyle said. "Obviously before the Big Bash League competition was established I was coach of the Tasmanian Tigers Twenty20 side, but there are certainly some challenges with the new format which I'm looking forward to tackling.

"There is no doubt that the Big Bash League was a success and the Hurricanes had success on and off the field, however 2012-13 is a new season and finding the balance between state, Big Bash League and national cricket will again be a real test for the players and coaching staff.

"We are very lucky in Tasmania that we have such an excellent group of coaching staff to choose from which has been identified recently with the new Tigers coaching structure put into place."

Michael Di Venuto will be Coyle's assistant, while the Hurricanes have two more spots to fill on their playing list before the end of November recruiting deadline.