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Hansie Cronje, the South Africa captain, will take complete charge of the team when Bob Woolmer, their coach, leaves after the World Cup tournament.

Ali Bacher, managing director of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, said Woolmer's successor, Graham Ford, will ``act as back-up for the captain. The overall boss will be the captain''.

Ford, 38, the Natal coach, was given a three-year contract after impressing Cronje with his technical expertise and communication skills. ``We did not want an international figure,'' Bacher said. ``There is no one better than Ford on the technical side.''

Bacher added that Ford would also hold a camp for black cricketers in September, which is in keeping with a government directive aimed at trying to introduce more coloured players into the national side.

Woolmer is standing down after five years in charge and has been linked with the England coaching job, though he insists he wants a rest from international cricket before considering his future.

The tournament hosts have already announced the departure of David Lloyd, their coach, immediately after the World Cup and Woolmer, a former England Test batsman and regarded as one of the most innovative thinkers in the modern game, seemed an obvious replacement.

Many now believe that Woolmer is more likely to return to Warwickshire, the county he led to a hat-trick of trophies in 1994.

Last week, Mike Gatting, a selector and former Test player, was reported to have ruled himself out as a candidate for the England coaching position. Graham Gooch, his fellow England selector, has also said he does not want the job.