Croft to coach England ODI squad in South Africa

Former England off-spinner Robert Croft will coach the England One Day squad during their five-match series against South Africa, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Monday.

Croft will join the coaching team of Trevor Bayliss, Paul Farbrace, Ottis Gibson and Graham Thorpe as a consultant spin bowling coach for a 12 day period at the start of the series. The first One-Day International (ODI) is on February 3.

He will travel to South Africa later this month where the team is currently playing a Test series. Croft played 50 ODIs during a five year international career.

Andrew Strauss, the Director of Cricket for the England cricket team, said in a statement: "Robert has had success in both domestic and international cricket during his career and he'll have plenty to offer the dressing room. It's an opportunity for players and coaches to exchange different ideas which is so important particularly at this stage in the side's development."

"He has worked with our performance programme in the past and has proved a popular and valuable addition and I've no doubt this group of players will also gain a lot from his involvement."

"I'd like to thank Hugh Morris for allowing Robert to join the coaching team in South Africa and I'm sure he'll return with ideas that Glamorgan will benefit from as they prepare for the coming season," Cook added.