London, Oct 9 (IANS): The England and Wales Cricket Board on Wednesday announced the appointment of Mo Bobat as Performance Director for men's cricket.

Bobat has been promoted from the role of Player Identification Lead and will take charge from David Parsons, who left the post in July.

He will be responsible for identifying England's highest potential players and leading programmes that will bridge the gap between county and international cricket.

"The position of Performance Director is a critical post in the development of our long-term strategy for elite performance. Mo demonstrated through his knowledge and experience that he has the attributes to take us forward in this area," said Director of Cricket Ashley Giles.

"The Performance Director will work closely with our network of counties to enhance the size and quality of our talent pool and ensure that we're jointly making decisions in each player's best long-term interests," he added.

Bobat, 36, has studied sports science and management and is also in the process of completing a Masters in sporting directorship. Prior to joining the ECB in 2011, Bobat worked as a lecturer and teacher in Leicester, augmenting his experience as a Level 4 certified cricket coach.

Since being promoted in 2016 as England men's Player Identification Lead, he has formulated the structure and processes underpinning the identification of prospective England players and has developed a strong connection to England team selection.

"I am looking forward to working closely with both Chris Silverwood and Ed Smith, and in doing so, supporting the performance needs of our England teams and moving us closer to achieving our aim of being the most respected team in the world," said Bobat on his appointment.

"Developing strong relationships with our counties to enhance the size and quality of our talent pool will be paramount. I aim to ensure that our highest potential players receive individualised support and international-specific experiences.

England recently appointed Silverwood as their head coach and his first competitive series in that position will be England's tour of New Zealand, which includes a five-match T20I series starting on November 1 and two Tests against the Black Caps commencing on November 21.