Dominic Cork appointed Derbyshire's T20 coach

Dominic Cork has worked with Derbshire bowlers for the last two T20 Blasts © Getty

Former Derbyshire and England all-rounder Dominic Cork has been appointed as the county's specialist T20 coach for this year's Vitality Blast.

Cork, who worked with Derbshire's bowlers during the last two Blast tournaments, has taken over the head coach role from New Zealander John Wright, who was in charge in 2018. Wright will remain as an advisor to the county while Cork will work closely with Dave Houghton (Head of Cricket), Steve Kirby (Assistant & Bowling Coach) and Mal Loye (Head of Development).

Cork's appointment continues a recent trend of county clubs employing specialist head coaches for the Blast. Middlesex have previously tried this approach and Durham have also opted to split the coaching roles for this year. On a pure results basis, this approach has yet to work with no club adopting a split coaching mode having won the Blast competition.

Last season, Derbyshire finished seventh in the North group with five wins from their 14 matches, failing to progress to the quarter-finals as a result. Cork's remit is to improve the county's performances in the shortest format, a tournament they have traditionally struggled in. They did, however, have a strong campaign in 2017 where they reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out.

Chief Executive, Ryan Duckett, said: "Dominic is a Derbyshire great and a proven winner with a great track record as a player. He has impressed as Specialist Twenty20 Bowling Coach and was part of the coaching setup as the club reached its first Twenty20 quarter-final since 2005.

"It's an exciting time for Derbyshire and I'm looking forward to Dominic, alongside Dave Steve and Mal, taking the squad forward in the Vitality Blast."

Cork added: "The opportunity was too good to miss and I'm delighted to be back with Derbyshire. The club is dear to my heart - it's where I started my career - and I've been grateful to work alongside John Wright in the last two years as the team has progressed.

"We've got players here who can win Twenty20 games and we've already upset the odds on a number of occasions. We'll continue to work as hard as we can hopefully take the club one step further to Finals Day."