Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson is set to leave the club to take up a role with the ECB.

Dawson will become the ECB’s elite performance pathway coach, bringing his tenure at Gloucestershire to an end after six seasons.

The 40-year-old Yorkshireman, led Gloucestershire to Royal London One-Day Cup triumph in 2015, as well as promotion to Division One of the County Championship in 2019.

Dawson, who previously spent time as a player and spin coach at Gloucestershire, replaces another former Gloucestershire player in Jon Lewis who has been promoted to elite pace bowling coach.

Ian Harvey will take over as Gloucestershire's interim head coach. The club has said they will now begin a review of its 'cricketing requirements' ahead of a formal recruitment process later in the year.

Gloucestershire CEO Will Brown said: “Richard has been a fantastic coach to work with from the outset engendering a belief and excitement that has filtered into all areas of the club.

"His dedication to building a positive and winning culture has been evident throughout his time in Bristol and the impact he made will be felt long after he is gone.

“Richard has taken huge pride in his role as head coach, working tirelessly to get the best out of himself and the players. His likeable easy-going personality, coupled with his commitment to Gloucestershire, garnered respect from the playing squad and meant he had a great rapport with the wider club staff.

“He will be missed by players, staff and supporters alike, but we are all proud and pleased for Richard and glad that the opportunities provided for him at Gloucestershire have enabled this gateway to national recognition.”

Club chairman John Hollingdale said: “It has been great to see the results of Richard’s work over the past six seasons and his time at Gloucestershire will be fondly remembered by our members and supporters.

“We would like to thank Richard for his dedication and professionalism throughout his time at the Club and wish him just as much success in his new role.”

Dawson was first introduced to the England setup as a coach in 2018 when he was appointed to the ECB scouting network designed to assess players with the potential to play international cricket.

In December 2019, his coaching work with the ECB began as he travelled to Mumbai for a specialist training camp in which he worked with prospective England spinners Dom Bess, Amar Virdi and Mason Crane.

Dawson took charge of the England Lions for an eight-match tour of Australia at the beginning of 2020 and worked under current England head coach Chris Silverwood as spin coach in the lead up to the first Test series of 2020 against West Indies.

Richard Dawson said: “It has been a huge privilege to have been the head coach of Gloucestershire Cricket since 2015.

“There were highs and lows on the pitch but winning the Royal London One-Day Cup in 2015 and gaining promotion to Division One of the County Championship in 2019 were highlights on the pitch, as was seeing a Gloucestershire player breaking into the England set up last year.

“As a playing and coaching unit, we have faced a lot of challenges off the field, and I’m proud of the togetherness of this squad, who have been incredibly supportive of one another through good and bad times. I’m confident the group is in a strong place with a healthy mix of experience and youth to compete in all formats of the game.

“Thank you to the members and fans who have been amazing in supporting the players and coaching team throughout my time as head coach. I’d like to wish the team, coaching staff and everybody else at the Club all the best for this season and beyond.

“I am looking forward to the challenge of this new role at ECB and leave with fantastic memories of my time at Gloucestershire.”

Dawson will remain as part of the Gloucestershire setup until the end of March before beginning his role as elite performance pathway coach in mid-April.