Leicestershire name Pierre de Bruyn as head coach

Leicestershire have named Pierre de Bruyn as their new head coach.

De Bruyn will take on the role at the start of October after Andrew McDonald leaves his post as elite performance director to return home to Melbourne, where he will coach the Renegades in the Big Bash League.

Former South Africa all-rounder De Bruyn joined Leicestershire as second XI and assistant skills coach last winter, and has since worked closely alongside McDonald.

The 39-year-old previously worked as head coach and technical director with TuksCricket, the team that represents the University of Pretoria, after a playing career in which he scored 4,637 first-class runs at an average of 37.09 and took 108 wickets at 29.63.

Foxes chief executive Wasim Khan said: "Pierre has made a huge impression since joining the club and has done a fantastic job this season. Pierre has stepped up to carry out a number of different roles and we feel that it is now the right time for him to take on this exciting new role.

"The club has made massive strides forward in the two years that Andrew has been here and Pierre will now carry on that excellent work in what are hugely exciting times at the Fischer County Ground.

"We will also be appointing an assistant coach who has extensive experience in county cricket, and we will be in a position to make that announcement on Tuesday next week."