FORMER Glamorgan captain and director of cricket Matthew Maynard has returned to the county as a consultant batting coach.

The 51-year-old will work with current head coach Robert Croft on a part-time basis, helping first-team squad members and academy players.

Maynard, who scored more than 24,000 first-class runs for Glamorgan, had been Somerset director of cricket for three years until the end of last season.

“Matt has a wealth of experience as both a player and a coach which will be invaluable to the club,” said Glamorgan chief executive and Maynard’s former teammate Hugh Morris.

“He has a genuine passion and enthusiasm for batting and with his history at Glamorgan is the ideal person to bring on board to oversee and develop the first-team batting, as well as our young Welsh talent.

“He will support the current coaching team under the leadership of Robert Croft and bring extra technical expertise to the batting as we look to build on our one-day success and begin to compete across all three formats."

Maynard enjoyed an illustrious 20-year playing career with Glamorgan, bursting onto the county scene at St Helen’s in Swansea in 1985 when he struck a century on his first-class debut.

He captained Glamorgan to the 1997 County Championship title and, by the time of his retirement in 2005, had scored a county record 54 centuries.

His talents with the bat were also recognised by England selectors, with Maynard appearing in four Tests and 14 one-day internationals.

After finishing playing, Maynard was England assistant coach from 2004 to 2007, before taking the Glamorgan hot-seat and also becoming head coach of South African team Nashua Titans.

On returning, Maynard said: “I’m delighted to be back at the club I was able to call home for so long.

“We have a very exciting group of batters at Glamorgan and I am relishing the opportunity to work with them.

“Hopefully I can pass on some of the knowledge I have absorbed over a long career and help them take their games to the next level.”