Matthew Maynard: Somerset appoint ex-Glamorgan coach

Maynard takes over from Dave Nosworthy at Somerset

Matthew Maynard has been named as Somerset's new director of cricket.

The 48-year-old has been coaching in South Africa and the Caribbean Premier League since quitting as Glamorgan boss four years ago.

The former England batsman and batting coach arrives at Taunton following the departure of Dave Nosworthy at the end of the season.

South African Nosworthy announced last month he was to leave the county two years into his three-year contract.

Somerset finished the summer in sixth place in the Championship Division One table, having failed to reach the knock-out stages in the limited-overs competitions.

"The spine behind the club is really solid and they're all good people - that's what really impressed me," Maynard told BBC Somerset.

"It's exciting times. They've got a number of good young players alongside the skilled senior players.

"Now it's down to me to create an environment for them to reach their potential and that's certainly what I'll be trying to do."

Maynard played for Glamorgan for 20 years, scoring nearly 25,000 first-class runs

Maynard was a Glamorgan player for 20 years between 1985 and 2005, and led the club to the Championship title in 1997.

He went on to become director of cricket at the Welsh club, but resigned in 2010 after Colin Metson was brought in as head coach.

Maynard took a break from the game following the death of his son Tom, the former Glamorgan and Surrey batsman, in 2012, before working abroad in the Twenty20 game, as well as coaching Glamorgan's youngsters.