London, Apr 5 (IANS): Former England coach Trevor Bayliss has admitted that stepping into the shoes of late spin wizard Shane Warne, who was the coach of The Hundred side London Spirit until his death, was "bittersweet".

The 59-year-old Bayliss has been appointed interim coach of London Spirit after Warne passed away last month due to a suspected heart-attack while he was vacationing in Thailand.

The month-long Hundred tournament will begin this year on August 3. The club had won just one of its seven matches and finished last in the eight-team tournament last year.

"It is obviously very bittersweet to take the role given the circumstances. It is an honour to try and build on the work Warnie (Shane Warne) started. The side knew what he and (London Spirit captain) Eoin (Morgan) were trying to build and I hope we can do that this year," Bayliss was quoted as saying by dailymail.co.uk.

Bayliss' appointment will resume his successful professional relationship with Morgan, which culminated in England winning the 2019 World Cup.

The Australian tactician has a vast experience of coaching both country and club sides. Besides guiding England to the ODI World Cup triumph, Bayliss has also coached IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad and Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League (BBL).

The Spirit have the likes of Morgan, Zak Crawley, Dan Lawrence and Mark Wood in their side along with Australian limited-overs specialist Glenn Maxwell.