England cricket team assistant coach Paul Farbrace is all set to leave the squad to take up the role of sport director with the Warwickshire County Cricket Club.
The development came as a major blow to England as Farbrace will be starting his new job after the end of their West Indies tour which means he will not be with the team for the forthcoming World Cup.
The coach said that it is never an easy decision to leave an "international set-up" and admitted that opportunity to work with Warwickshire County Cricket Club was too tempting for him to resists. He further thanked the England team and said that the working experience with them was "fantastic".
"There is never a great time to leave an international set-up and despite what will be a fantastic summer for English cricket, the opportunity to shape the future of one of the game's biggest counties was too much to resist. It would have been tough for me to have turned down the opportunity once Warwickshire showed an interest in me," ESPNcricinfo quoted Farbrace, as saying.
"I have had five fantastic years with England. It has been a brilliant experience working with world-class coaches, players and support staff. I have been fortunate to taste some genuine success and be part of the development of some excellent players, who have the world at their feet this summer," he added.
Managing director of England cricket team Ashley Giles acknowledged the contribution made by Farbrace to the English cricket and hoped to find his successor soon.
"I would like to thank Paul for all his efforts over the last five years as a key figure in England's success across the red and white ball formats. Paul was integral, alongside, Andrew Strauss, Trevor Bayliss and Eoin Morgan, in transforming our white-ball strategy, which has seen us become the best team in the world leading into a World Cup year. His efforts in developing players in the elite environment will benefit him in his new role at Edgbaston," Ashley said.
"He is an ambitious professional and highly regarded and respected in the game and the opportunity at Warwickshire is something that would have been difficult for him to turn down. I respect his desire to take this on and wish him every success in leading the county on their return to the top flight of Specsavers County Championship. I will now start the process to find a successor and work closely with our existing set-up to ensure we have everything in place ahead of a busy summer of international cricket," he added.
Farbrace had joined the England team in 2014 and monitored the team’s revamp following their disappointing run in the 2015 World Cup tournament.
(With inputs from ANI)
