Former cricketer and England Men's Cricket Operations Manager, Phil Neale OBE, is to retire from his role at the end of October.

Neale, who has been in the role since 1999, will leave his post after 21 years' service with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

During his time with the team, he has served as six Head Coaches, 11 Test captains, and worked on 257 Test matches, 422 One-Day Internationals, and 110 T20 internationals.

"I would like to personally thank Phil for his immense contribution to the sport and his incredibly loyal service to the England set-up," said Ashley Giles, Managing Director, England Men's Cricket in an official statement.

"I have worked alongside him throughout my time in cricket, both as a player and now as an administrator. He has always been dedicated and professional in every aspect of his role and has enjoyed some incredible moments, including Ashes wins home and away and a World Cup victory in 2019," he added.

The former Worcestershire county cricketer, who led his county to County Championship titles in 1988 and 1989 and the Sunday League crown in 1987 and 1988, played 354 First Class and 339 List A games

"I was not sure that I would ever know when it would be the right time to call it a day, but I am pretty sure that I have got it right when I say that time is now," said Neale.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in professional sport as a player, coach, and finally as an Operations Manager. I consider myself very lucky to have been able to spend all my working life in a dressing room environment," Neale continued.

"It has been a privilege to witness at close quarters the achievements of the many players that have come through the England Teams while I have been involved and to have been part of some memorable team achievements. The five Ashes Series victories and the T20 World Cup win in 2010 were very special, but the icing on the cake was the World Cup victory in 2019 at Lord's," he added.

During his 45-year career in professional sport, and alongside captaining Worcestershire for 10 seasons, he made 369 appearances for Lincoln City as a footballer and was the last man to play cricket and football professionally at the same time.

In a coaching capacity, the 66-year-old worked at Northamptonshire and Warwickshire as Director of Cricket and coached England A on successful tours to South Africa and India. He then became Team Manager for the successful 1998 Under 19 World Cup campaign before moving up to work in that capacity with the England A-Team.

( With inputs from ANI )

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