Ryan Campbell: Durham appoint former Netherlands coach as head coach

Ryan Campbell led the Netherlands to 11th in the ICC rankings

Durham have appointed former Netherlands coach Ryan Campbell as their head coach on a three-year deal.

The 50-year-old replaces James Franklin at Chester-le-Street.

Campbell spent four years in charge of the Dutch national side, having previously worked as a batting coach for Hong Kong.

"I am extremely honoured to be appointed Durham's head coach and I can't wait to get started," the Australian told the club website.

He suffered an unexplained cardiac arrest in April and was placed in an induced coma for seven days.

"I collapsed at the top of a slide with my daughter and fortunately I landed on the foot of a girl whose mother had just done a CPR course two weeks ago, and she saved my life," Campbell told BBC's Stumped podcast in June.

"The more I've looked into it - and my wife has told me how close it was - I've made a few changes, and I won't be letting the little things bother me so much. Family is the number one priority and sometimes working in sport you can forget about that a little bit."

He returned to his role with the Netherlands and led them to a fourth-placed finish in their group at the T20 World Cup in Australia last month, including a famous win over South Africa.

Campbell 'best fit for Durham'

Campbell takes over at Durham after former New Zealand international Franklin left in September.

Franklin led them to the One-Day Cup final in 2021 but the side struggled in the County Championship last season, finishing sixth in Division Two.

Director of cricket Marcus North believes Campbell, who made two one-day appearances for Australia, is the right man to take the county forward.

"Following an extensive recruitment process, it became clear that Ryan was the best fit for Durham and the county," North said.

"Ryan comes to Durham with an excellent reputation following a successful period as the Netherlands head coach.

"I look forward to working with him and continue to build on the foundations laid during the past four years with this exciting group of players."