London, Jan 5 (IANS): Former Zimbabwe cricketer Grant Flower has joined Sussex as the new batting coach, the club confirmed on Wednesday.

The 51-year-old, Flower replaced Jason Swift, who has decided to leave the club to pursue other opportunities.

After joining Sussex, Flower said, "It gives me great pleasure to be added to the Sussex coaching staff and I can't wait to start. I have been told about the exciting young batters coming through the ranks and am excited to be given the opportunity of hopefully improving them along their journey.

"I always enjoyed playing against the Sharks and admired their professional approach and ultra-competitiveness. Hopefully, I can add to that with some of my international coaching experiences and help contribute to make the Sharks batting unit both reliable and exciting."

Flower joined Sussex after serving two years as batting coach of the Sri Lanka national side. He performed the same role for Pakistan between 2014 and 2019 and for Zimbabwe between 2010 and 2014.

Welcoming Flower, Sussex's One-Day head coach, Ian Salisbury said, "Grant is an absolutely fantastic addition to our staff. I've known him since my first trip to Zimbabwe in 1989 and can vouch for his personal qualities, while his coaching and playing record speak for themselves."