Dublin [Ireland], May 2 (ANI): Cricket Ireland announced Lloyd Tennant as Ireland Women's team head coach on Friday. Tennant will begin his tenure on June 1, replacing Ed Joyce, who announced that he would leave the role after nearly six years in February.

Joyce's last assignment was last month's ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier. In the tournament, Ireland failed to secure a place at the ICC ODI World Cup, which is set to be held in India later this year.

Tennant is an ECB Level 4 qualified cricket coach with over 30 years of experience in coaching and developing international, regional and first-class cricketers and teams. He is also the former head coach of Central Sparks, a position he held for four years.

The 57-year-old has significant experience in women's cricket as assistant coach for the ECB Female Academy and 'A' Team, assistant coach for Manchester Originals Female Team, and as ECB Women and Girls' talent manager for two years.

In addition, he has extensive coaching experience, having worked across the Male High Performance Pathway at Leicestershire CCC for over 20 years and serving as the bowling coach for the ECB Male Under-19 programme.

'I'm very excited about this new role - it's such a great time to be involved in women's cricket, given its rapid development around the world. This Ireland Women's squad has moved forward enormously under the guidance of Ed Joyce, and I would like to continue his great work, supporting this squad as it continues to grow. To be honest, I can't wait to get started,' Tennant said in a statement released by Cricket Ireland.

Graeme West, Cricket Ireland's Director of High Performance, believes Tennant is the perfect fit for the national squad that has an abundance of young talent.

'We are delighted to have secured the services of Lloyd Tennant as our new National Women's Head Coach. Lloyd's vast experience coaching across male and female High Performance Pathways in the UK made him an outstanding candidate. He brings an abundance of expertise and knowledge, with the additional capacity to educate, that I am confident will advance the players and staff he leads,' West said.

'We believe Lloyd is the perfect fit for the current national squad that has an abundance of young talent. His additional experience with the ECB taking players through Under-19 World Cup cycles and National Academy programmes has provided Lloyd with a thorough understanding of the challenges of managing and developing players who are balancing educational commitments with the demands of being an elite athlete,' he added.

Tennant's first assignment will be the Ireland women's team home series against Zimbabwe, which will feature three T20IS and two ODIS towards the end of July. The white-ball series will be followed by three T20Is at home against Pakistan in August. (ANI)