Yorkshire confirmed the news in a club statement on Friday which made no reference to his sacking. "We're delighted Richard has agreed to become the head coach of our women's team and we are very pleased to welcome him back to Yorkshire," Colin Graves, the club's chairman, said.

"After a thorough and robust process, Richard stood out amongst an incredible shortlist of candidates. Through the whole process it was clear Richard is the right person to lead Yorkshire into the club's new chapter and take our women's professional team to the highest level.

"Richard is a proven developer, has an excellent reputation, and a winning mentality as a player and as a coach. We believe that Richard will be the perfect fit for the next stage of our new and exciting journey."

Yorkshire will play in Tier 2 of the ECB's revamped domestic structure next year, alongside Derbyshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Middlesex, Sussex and Worcestershire. They will then become a Tier 1 county from 2026 onwards.

"It's an incredible honour for me to be given the opportunity to lead Yorkshire's women's side and it's the proudest moment of my career," Pyrah said. "This is an exciting time to be involved in women's cricket, following ECB's restructure of the women's professional game."