Former Bath captain and director of rugby Stuart Hooper will be named director of cricket operations as the England and Wales Cricket Board look to other sports to fill two crucial roles.
The ECB confirmed on Wednesday that Ed Barney would join from England and Great Britain Hockey to replace Mo Bobat as performance director for men’s cricket.
In addition, Telegraph Sport understands that Hooper will replace David Humphreys, another rugby import, after the 42-year-old ended a 15-year association with Bath as a player, director, and general manager.
Since leaving Bath earlier this year, Hooper had been linked with the role of British and Irish Lions manager for the 2025 tour of Australia. Instead, he will take over next month from Humphreys, who ends a short stint with ECB to become performance director with Irish Rugby, who he represented with distinction as a fly-half across 72 caps.
Hooper’s role will see him liaise with other cricket boards over England’s schedule and logistics on overseas tours.
Meanwhile, Bobat announced in September that he would be leaving the ECB to join Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League as director of cricket. He is currently combining both roles, sitting at the auction table with RCB in Dubai on Tuesday, but also organising the England Lions tour of India in January.
A show of the vital nature of the role came in Rob Key, England’s director of cricket’s statement upon Bobat’s departure. Key described their partnership as “probably the most enjoyable partnership of any career I have had” and said Bobat had been a “guiding hand” in his time with England.
Barney worked at the ECB from 2010 to 2013 in talent identification and is returning to cricket after a stint in hockey that saw his teams achieve Olympic, European and Commonwealth Games success. He will start in March.
“The opportunity to return to the ECB and take on the role of performance director was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” he said. “I’m looking forward to building on much of the exceptional work that is in place, whilst ensuring that the quality of our provision supports the most talented players to realise their potential, excel on the world stage and inspire the nation about everything that cricket has to offer.”
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