Ryan Campbell steps up as Durham director of cricket following promotion

Former head coach will lead search for his own replacement, as well as open discussions with Stokes over playing future

Durham head coach Ryan Campbell has been promoted to replace Marcus North as director of cricket, and his first task in the role will be to appoint his own successor.

Campbell has spent four years as Durham's head coach, and has overseen two promotions and one relegation in the County Championship, after his side won the Division Two title this year. He replaces North, who left Durham this summer to become an England selector, and the club announced that he will be in charge of the search process for a new coach.

"The club will now take some time to review the men's head coach position, with Ryan leading the search," Durham said in a statement. "We will keep members updated with the appointment of a new head coach once the process has been completed."

Among Campbell's other responsibilities will be to lead talks with Ben Stokes about his playing future with the club, with his England central contract coming to an end this week. Stokes, who retired from international cricket in June, played seven Championship games this summer as Durham won promotion, as well as ten One-Day Cup matches.

Campbell said that his time as head coach had been "incredible" and that he had been "extremely proud" to see the club produce England players, including Test opener Emilio Gay this summer.

"The fans up here in the North East have been brilliant throughout," he said. "My family and I have properly settled here; this is home for us now. Moving into the director of cricket and high performance coaching role isn't stepping back, it's a chance to keep shaping the direction of this club, and I'm really looking forward to it."

Tim Bostock, the club's chief executive, said: "We are delighted to appoint Ryan as our new director of cricket and high-performance coaching at Durham Cricket. He has big shoes to fill in replacing Marcus North but continuity was an important factor in making this decision alongside delivering our long-term vision for Durham Cricket.

"Ryan, like Marcus, understands the passion for cricket in the North East and totally buys into producing outstanding cricketers who will bring success for Durham and of course England in the years to come. Ryan's first objective will be to appoint his successor as our men's high-performance coach along with myself and this process has already begun."