Alun Powell, the Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) head of regional academies, has been appointed as the national talent manager at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Powell will be based at the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough University, and will oversee all aspects of talent identification and development below international level.

He will work alongside two other senior talent development directors – Andy Flower and Andy Hurry – and will report to ECB performance director David Parsons.

David Graveney OBE, the ECB’s national performance manager for schools and universities, will also support Powell.

A similar appointment concerning talent development and recruitment within the women’s game will be made shortly.

ECB director of England Cricket Andrew Strauss said Powell’s work in rugby had been “widely admired” and he had a “proven track record of implementing successful talent development programmes”.

“His expertise will be invaluable to us as we look to develop and improve our existing county network, draw on best practice from other sports and deliver to a consistently high standard in all areas,” he added.