Former England opener Mark Stoneman has joined Somerset to work as a batting coach. The 38-year-old who played for Durham, Surrey, Middlesex and Hampshire over an 18-year county career has joined on an initial three-month consultancy basis.

Stoneman scored 19,864 runs across the three formats of the game and played in 11 Test matches for England at an average of 27. "I'm looking forward to getting amongst the lads and sharing some good knowledge," he told the club website.

"Hopefully, we can help them improve on the things that they're already doing well, the aim is to maximise the performance of what is already a high performing group. This is a fantastic opportunity at a highly successful club, hopefully I can help bring more success to Somerset. "Cricket has been my life since I was about four years old and during the last few winters I've had an eye on the coaching side of things."