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England have chosen the safest pair of hands available to manage this winter's tour of South Africa. Phil Neale, the Warwickshire coach, will reinforce the team of Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher, who takes up his coaching position in October.

Neale, 45, has had a thorough grounding as player, captain and coach, and will enjoy the respect of the players. He was a firm leader when Worcestershire won the championship in 1988 and again the followin g year.

After retirement he began his coaching career at Northamptonshire, before replacing Bob Woolmer at Edgbaston and promptly helping them to retain the championship in 1995.

Neale was the coach on two A tours, to South Africa and India, and has subsequently managed three tours at A and under-19 level, so he is familiar with the responsibilities that go with the title of general manager. The overall control of the tour will remain with Fletcher.

Neale is clearly the best man for the job, and his promotion could lead to a permanent appointment as the first full-time England manager, when the post is created next year.

Dean Conway, the Glamorgan physiotherapist, will transfer that role to the England set-up, succeeding Wayne Morton, who has performed that duty since 1995.

The other touring parties open the door to three Yorkshiremen. Martyn Moxon, the county's director of coaching, will be the coach on the A tour to Bangladesh and New Zealand, managed by Mike Gatting. James Whitaker, the Leicestershire captain, is in charge of the brief under-19 tour to Malaysia and the World Cup in Sri Lanka. The coach is Tim Boon, a former colleague at Grace Road.