Cricket news - Richard Dawson named head coach for England Lions tour of Australia

Gloucestershire's Richard Dawson has been appointed head coach of the England Lions for the forthcoming tour of Australia. Dawson will be joined by England internationals Marcus Trescothick and Jonathan Trott, who'll serve as the team's batting coaches. The trio will be joined in the support staff by Jason Kerr (fast bowling coach), Carl Hopkinson (fielding coach) and Bruce French (wicketkeeping coach).

Dawson took over coaching responsibilities at Gloucestershire in early 2015 following the departure of John Bracewell. In his first season in charge, he oversaw the club's victorious campaign at the Royal London One-Day Cup, when they defeated Surrey at Lord's.

"I'm excited for this opportunity to coach the England Lions, working alongside some excellent coaches," Dawson said. "It will be a challenging tour and one that the coaches and players will all learn a great deal from. Australia is a testing place to tour as an England player, both on and off the field.

"I look forward to working with some of this country's best young cricketers as they progress on the Performance Pathway," he added.

The England Lions squad and support personnel will depart for Australia on January 21 and first partake in the white-ball leg, which includes games against Cricket Australia XIs and New South Wales XIs at Metricon and Drummoyne respectively.

Trescothick, who'll assist the batsmen on their white-ball games, will then make way for Trott, who'll take over for the three four-day matches, which includes a Day-Night match against Australia A at the MCG.

"Richard, Marcus and Jonathan all have experience of touring Australia with England as players so the advice they can pass on to our players will be invaluable," ECB Performance Director Mo Bobat said. "This tour provides us a good opportunity to recognise two coaches who have excelled in their roles in County cricket in Richard and Jason, as well as two high potential newcomers in Jonathan and Marcus.

"The tour also gives our players a chance to test themselves against their peers Down Under, giving them relevant experience at international venues like the MCG with an eye on creating success in future Ashes series."

Tour Itinerary:

Sun 2 February: One-day match v Cricket Australia XI - Metricon, Gold Coast Tue 4 February: One-day match v Cricket Australia XI - Metricon, Gold Coast Thu 6 February: One-day match v Cricket Australia XI - Metricon, Gold Coast Sun 9 February: One-day match v New South Wales XI - Drummoyne Oval, Sydney Tue 11 February: One-day match v New South Wales XI - Drummoyne Oval, Sydney Sat 15 February-Tue 18 February: Four-day match v Cricket Australia XI - Blundstone Arena, Hobart Sat 22 February-Tue 25 February: Four-day match v Australia A - MCG, Melbourne (D/N) Mon 2 March-Thu 5 March: Four-day match v New South Wales XI - North Dalton Park, Wollongong