DARREN Lehmann can’t wait to return to familiar territory after being appointed as the new coach of the Emerald Headingley based men’s Hundred team.

The Australian White Rose legend will work alongside Danielle Hazell, who will coach the women’s team for the ECB’s new competition, starting next July.

Lehmann, 49, won the County Championship with Yorkshire in 2001, captained them and earned legendary status as a popular left-handed overseas batsman.

“I’m really excited to get back up north,” said Lehmann, who will be at Headingley this week working in the media on the third Ashes Test.

“I spent a lot of time there as a player, so to be able to go back as a coach of a new competition and to spend some time with family and friends will be a lot of fun. It will be exciting for everyone I reckon.

“There are a lot of unknowns with the competition, but you are going to see some high quality cricket with the best players playing over a three or four-week period.”

Lehmann follows Shane Warne as the latest Australian to be announced as a men’s coach by the ECB, with the Headingley team concentrating on the catchment area of Yorkshire and Durham.

While Warne will coach the Lord’s based team, Andrew McDonald will be in charge at Edgbaston and Simon Katich at Old Trafford.

The Australia coach until March 2018, Lehmann will this winter take charge of Brisbane Heat in the T20 Big Bash for a second time in his coaching career.

He will then turn his attention to the new 100-ball competition, with tactics just one of many things coaches, players and fans will have to get their heads around quickly.

He added: “It’s a clean slate, and really we’ll have to pick up a lot of things on the run and put a lot of trust in a captain’s gut feel - much more so than the structure of a one-day game or a T20.

“You’re only losing 20 balls, so I still expect the scores to be high. English grounds are quite high scoring anyway.

“There are going to be challenges with tactics such as working out who to bowl when. But a couple of trial games will help. As I say, it will be a lot of fun. I can’t wait.”

Squads for all eight men’s teams will come together at the ECB’s player draft on October 20.