Ashley Giles has been chosen as the man to guide England in limited overs Cricket, after being appointed as their new One Day and T20 Head Coach. Those over at http://www.cricket-betting.org.uk note how he replaces Andy Flower, who will now focus mainly on the Test team although the Zimbabwean will remain in charge of team preparation and strategies.

It marks a return to the England set-up for former international spinner Giles, who had enjoyed success whilst coaching at County level with Warwickshire. The 39-year-old led The Bears to the County Championship title in September and has received praise for his innovative coaching methods.

Now, Giles has been given the chance to prove himself on the world stage and he admits that he can’t wait to get started:

I am delighted to have been appointed England ODI and T20 Head Coach and to be given an opportunity to coach at international level. I have worked closely with Andy (Flower) in recent years as a selector and am looking forward to continuing to work together and to build on the progress that has been made with the ODI and T20 sides in recent years.

England endured a disappointing defence of their World T20 crown in Sri Lanka earlier this year, going out in the Super 8’s stage, but they will hope to climb back up the rankings under Giles’ leadership.

The change should also give Flower more time to spend more time with his family with speculation suggesting that he was finding it hard to juggle leading England in all formats of the game, and ECB managing Director, Hugh Morris, believes that the change will be a positive move for English Cricket:

England cricket has enjoyed considerable success over the past five years. In order to build on that success we know that we need to look for ways to evolve and it has become clear that the Team Director role needs to change if we are to ensure we are utilising the role as effectively as possible. Bringing in a Head Coach for the ODI and T20 formats allows the Team Director more time to plan for forthcoming series and tournaments and also have a more realistic and sustainable work life balance.