England’s head of women’s cricket Clare Connor hailed the appointment of Mark Robinson as head coach yesterday but hopes one day the role will be given to a woman.

The former England player said the job of head coach had to go to a man this time, with Paul Shaw stepping down from his role as head of performance, but is optimistic that one day it will not be such a clear-cut call.

“We would absolutely hope that there is a time in the not-too-distant future where a former England women’s cricketer is the head coach,” said Connor.

“If we are realistic at what we were looking for now, it was evident to anybody that they were only ever going to come from someone in the men’s game. At the moment there are no female coaches in cricket who have the skills and experiences and proven track record to be in this role.”

Robinson, who brings with him over 20 years of coaching experience, will leave his position with Surrey in December but plans to work with Shaw until he takes over at the end of the year.

“For us to have someone who has coached at a great club, he brings everything we are looking for,” Connor said.

The 39-year-old is excited at how women’s cricket has progressed in recent years but believes developing players into coaches should be a key focus for the future.

“It’s a very natural transition from player to coach,” she said. “A lot of the women have coached at grass roots level and some have coached a lot higher than that but I guess it is something we need to proactively support them around in decisions after playing.”

Connor acknowledges playing cricket is not something to which all young girls aspire, but hopes the numbers will increase with time.

“At the moment, most of the team have come from men’s and boys’ cricket but in a few years’ time I don’t think we will be saying that because the women’s game will be complete from top to bottom to produce women’s players.”