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Former England captain Danielle Hazell has been appointed as Durham Women's new head coach.

Hazell, 36, who took 146 wickets with her off spin in 141 appearances for England, twice won the Women's World Cup and also enjoyed three Ashes victories.

Having been head coach of Yorkshire-based Northern Diamonds since 2019, she has now signed a three-year deal with Durham to take the club on following the England and Wales Cricket Board’s restructure of the women’s professional game.

“This is an exciting new chapter for Durham Cricket and the whole of the region, and I wanted to be part of it," said Hazell.

“I feel aligned with the club’s ambitions and standards to continually grow and move forward in such a pivotal moment for women and girls’ cricket.

“I knew after initial conversations; it was the right opportunity for me to return to my home club."

Yorkshire, currently represented by Northern Diamonds, were not among the eight counties that will host professional women's cricket teams from 2025 - Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and Surrey.

While they were awarded Tier 1 status by the ECB, Yorkshire and Glamorgan will have to wait until 2027 to join them as part of an expansion.

Durham director of cricket Marcus North “It was clear from the off that Dani was the right person to lead Durham into our new chapter.

"She knows the club inside out having played for us and worked within our women and girl’s pathway.

“Dani has an excellent reputation following a successful period as Northern Diamonds and Northern Superchargers head coach.

"She had a winning mentality as a player and as a coach which is exciting."