John Morris appointed Derbyshire head of cricket

John Morris, the former England batsman, has returned to his old team Derbyshire as their new head of cricket. Morris, 43, who spent 11 years with the club from 1982 to 1993, takes over the reins with immediate effect.

"I am highly delighted to be here," Morris said. "I have never lost the love of the game since I retired from playing and to come back to my roots and represent the team with which I made my name as a player is a wonderful feeling.

"Cricket is in by blood, it is my life and it is now up to me to prove myself within management and to take this club forward.

"I will do things my way and some changes will be made. But I know that there is enough desire and ability within this club to take it forward and to be a competitive team in first-class cricket.

"I am not saying that I have got all of the answers, of course I haven't, but there will be a philosophy in place of how I want the team to play cricket and I will bring strong leadership to the camp.

"My philosophy is play it properly, play it well, play it with a smile on your face and let's learn how to win."

The club's chairman, Don Amott, said: "I am delighted that John has been appointed our new head of cricket and I have every confidence that he can bring us success on the pitch to match the progress we are making off it.

"Our main focus will always be trying to improve our cricket and compete at the top of the domestic game and we will give John all the support he needs to achieve that. I am sure all Derbyshire members and supporters will get behind John and the squad as we move forward."

Morris moved from Derbyshire after 11 years to Durham in 1993, and then closed an arguably unfulfilled career at Nottinghamshire in 2001. He then worked as a commentator for Sky before landing the Derbyshire role.