The Blaze Head Coach, Chris Guest, will leave The Blaze at the end of the season to take up the position of England Women U19 Performance Lead.
He will become the first permanent Performance Lead, with the role involving him leading England at the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup 2025 in Malaysia as well as future tours, whilst also spearheading talent identification from the academy and senior programmes which will feed into England’s U19 activity.
His appointment comes having undertaken the Head Coach role on a temporary basis in recent years - including leading the side to an ICC Women’s U19 World Cup final appearance in 2022.
He departs The Blaze having reached three of the last four domestic finals, winning the Charlotte Edwards Cup earlier this season.
"It's meant so much to me to hold this position at The Blaze, and it's not something that I feel ready to move on from as such, but the opportunity to pull on the Three Lions in a full-time role was too exciting to turn down," he said.
"Whoever gets the opportunity to lead this group moving forwards is in a really privileged position, not just because of the cricketers - and we've got a really strong, balanced squad here - but also the people. This is a fantastic group of individuals.
"The last three years have been the best professional experience of my career, and will certainly shape my coaching moving forwards. My time here has coincided with a lot of life events too - births of children, weddings, my eldest son going to school - and it's been fantastic for my kids to have the opportunity to see this and to grow up here."
Guest initially took up the mantle of Head Coach with Lightning Cricket in 2021, having been Senior Regional Talent Manager with the side prior to that appointment.
Across the last two years, he has guided the side to 33 wins from 46 playable games - a win rate of over 70%.
“Guesty’s contribution to The Blaze over the last 3 years has been immeasurable,” Director of Cricket, James Cutt, said.
“He has overseen the transformation of the first team into a successful side, which culminated in our 20 over triumph this season, and we have also seen a number of our players go on to represent England at various levels
“His impact, though, goes far beyond that - he will leave a lasting impression on our players and staff because of the way in which he supported them as both cricketers and people, and encouraged them to get better and enjoy everything they do.
“He created a positive environment and built relationships with passion and care for those around him. My heartfelt thanks go to Chris for the effort he has put into the role and I look forward to seeing him continue his coaching journey.”