Birmingham Phoenix today confirmed their coaching teams ahead of the start of England's brand new 100 ball tournament – The Hundred.

Andrew McDonald will not travel to England this season due to the current global issues caused by the COVID 19 pandemic. Hence, Former New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori will step up to the position of Men’s Interim Head Coach while McDonald will support the team as a consultant before returning as Men’s Head Coach next season.

After a highly successful career as a cricketer that sees him being regarded as one of New Zealand’s finest ever cricketers, Vettori has gained considerable coaching experience having been in charge of Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League, Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and Middlesex in the Vitality Blast.

Vettori will be supported by two Assistant Coaches – Alex Gidman & James Franklin who have great experience in England, both on and off the pitch, and are presently Head Coaches at Worcestershire & Durham respectively.

Ben Sawyer stays as Head Coach of the Women’s team with some great additions to his backroom staff.

Ex England cricketer Caroline Foster (nee Atkins) is one of three Assistant Coaches alongside Dominic Ostler and Gareth Davies who currently mentor the Warwickshire and Worcestershire Women’s teams.

A former World Cup and Ashes winner, Foster has coached Western Storm to the final of the Kia Super League in its maiden edition in 2016.

Daniel Vettori said: “I feel really honoured to be asked to step up and take the reigns from Andrew this year. We’ll continue to communicate regularly and Andrew’s advice will be vital to our success. Our squad looks really strong and we want to build a winning team and hopefully bring The Hundred trophy to Birmingham.”

Andrew McDonald commented: “It was a really hard decision not to travel over this summer and I’m extremely sad that I won’t be there in person to coach the team. I’ll be doing everything I can to give advice and support to Daniel and his team and I’m already looking forward to playing a role in person next season.”

Caroline Foster said: “I feel thrilled to be working with Birmingham Phoenix this summer. Ben is a fantastic coach who has experience around the world and I can’t wait to work with him and the players ahead of what is an incredibly exciting moment not just for Birmingham Phoenix but for women’s cricket as a whole.”