Paul Farbrace is to start work as England’s assistant coach with immediate effect, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced today.

The appointment of the 46-year-old former Yorkshire second-team coach had been expected ever since Peter Moores was given the top job on Saturday.

Farbrace leaves his role as the coach or Sri Lanka to return to his home country, where he will now work closely with Moores to try and arrest England’s recent slump in form across all three formats of the game.

The appointment of Farbrace was secured by ECB chief executive David Collier and managing director Paul Downton, with the pair working to agree terms with the Sri Lankan Cricket Board.

Farbrace, also formerly on the staff of Kent, only joined Sri Lanka in December and oversaw instant success in both the Asia Trophy and the ICC World Twenty20.

“We are grateful to SLC for their understanding and co-operation in releasing Paul from his contract in order to achieve his desire to return to England and to allow him to work with Peter Moores,” Collier said.

Downton added: “In his short time as Sri Lanka coach Paul has enjoyed unprecedented success winning first the Asia Cup and then following that with victory in the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.”

Farbrace - who will now work with Moores ahead of England’s first fixture of the season against Scotland in early May - admitted the chance to represent England was too great to turn down.

“It’s fantastic to be given the opportunity to work with your own country’s national team, and this was an offer that I could not turn down - much as I have enjoyed working with the Sri Lankan players and sharing in their recent success,” he said.

“I am particularly relishing the chance to work more closely with Peter as we undertook the Level Four Coaching programme together and have known each other since we were both young wicketkeepers on the county circuit together.

"It will also be great to renew acquaintances with Alastair Cook and other senior players whom I worked with earlier in my coaching career with England’s age-group teams.”

Moores is eager to start working with Farbrace, adding: “I am looking forward to getting down to work with Paul in the next few days.

"We have a lot of work to do in a short time as we prepare for the fast-approaching international season. There is no doubt Paul will bring a lot of recent international experience to the England set-up.”