Robert Croft takes over as Glamorgan coach

Former England spin bowler Robert Croft has been appointed Glamorgan's new head coach on a rolling contract.

Croft is in England's backroom team for their one-day tour of South Africa as a spin bowling consultant and was previously Glamorgan's bowling coach.

The former Glamorgan captain has won a County Championship and three Sunday League titles in his 28 years at the county and succeeds Toby Radford.

Croft says "it was a very special moment" when he was offered the job.

"Glamorgan has been my home club for 28 years as a player and a coach," said the 45-year-old.

Radford left his position as Glamorgan coach after the county finished fourth in Division Two of the 2015 County Championship.

"I'm under no illusions as to the scale of the challenge that we will face but I have taken it on knowing that there is a collective desire to drive things forwards."

Croft is Glamorgan's fourth leading wicket-taker of all-time with 1,175 wickets and was part of their golden era that included their County Championship win in 1997 and three Sunday league titles in 1993, 2002 and 2004.

Croft played alongside current Glamorgan chief executive Hugh Morris in that team and he said Croft was "the outstanding candidate".

"His long association with the club, his knowledge of the squad and his vision for the future were the most significant elements of his interview and we are very pleased that he has accepted this opportunity," said Morris.

"There was significant interest in the role from a broad spectrum of coaching talent and while rival candidates had their merits, we concluded that Robert was the best man for the job."

The county say assistant coach Steve Watkin, performance analyst David Harrison, strength and conditioning coach Tom Turner and physiotherapist Mark Rausa will remain in position.