Former England international David Capel has been appointed as Assistant Coach to the England Women’s team.
Capel, a former Northamptonshire all-rounder, will take up his role with immediate effect and work alongside Carl Crowe. Both Assistant Coaches, Capel and Crowe, will work with Paul Shaw in his recently appointed role as Head of England Women’s Performance.
Capel, 50, played in 15 Test matches and 23 one-day internationals for England between 1987 and 1990 alongside 17 years of county cricket with Northants.
Following six seasons playing and coaching professionally in South Africa and four in Australia, Capel returned to England in 1998 after the end of his playing career to take up the role of Director of Excellence at Northamptonshire.
Capel, an ECB Level 4 coach, led the county’s academy before taking over as Head Coach from 2006-2012. During that time, he steered the side to their first appearance at ECB Twenty20 finals day in 2009. In addition to his county role, he has also coached on the England Lions programme and the England Under-17 and Under-19 winter programmes.
He said: "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to take on the role of Assistant Coach to the England Women’s cricket team.
“The team has consistently been at the top of the world game for over five years now and there are some really exciting challenges ahead in the next 12 months, with back-to-back Ashes and the ICC World Twenty20 scheduled for Bangladesh in early 2014.
“I look forward to working closely with a hard-working and talented group of players and staff.”
Head of England Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor, added: “The interest in this role was overwhelming and David Capel shone at interview.
“He is a high-quality individual with a strong work ethic and an enormous passion for the game.
“I believe he will bring vast technical and tactical expertise, a wealth of experience and a level of intensity that the players will thrive on.
“I know that adding David to an already strong coaching team will accelerate the development of players within the England Women’s programme as they prepare for an exciting and challenging 12 months of international cricket.”
England Women’s international summer will begin against Pakistan on July 1.