Melbourne, Feb 3 (IANS): Hockey Australia (HA) Tuesday appointed Andy Smith as the new High Performance Director.

A former county cricketer with Surrey in England, Smith has spent the last six years working as Operations Manager for HA’s men’s high performance programme, part of the behind-the-scenes team that helped Kookaburras to an Olympic bronze, two World Cup golds and two Commonwealth Games crowns.

He has previously worked as programme manager for the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) and as a project manager in the development department of the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA). Prior to emigrating to Australia from England, Smith worked for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

“I’m looking forward to working with Andy in his new role as we continue to strive for our vision of consistent Australian team performance and success at our benchmark events, keeping our men’s and women’s teams at the forefront of world hockey and developing the talent of the future,” HA chief executive Cam Vale said.