Scotland women's cricket team has its first full-time head coach, with Mark Coles taking on the role.

The New Zealander spent two years in charge of the Pakistan women's team and was most recently high-performance manager for Cricket Japan.

He replaces Steve Knox who had been doing the job on a part-time basis over the past five years.

Cricket Scotland chief executive Gus Mackay said the appointment marks "a big step forward".

Coles said: "I am very humbled to be given the opportunity to work with such a talented group and I am extremely excited about what we can achieve.

"I have no doubt that when we play, we will be playing with the pride, passion, and bravery that the Scottish people are known for around the world."

The statement confirming Coles' arrival said Scotland's focus this year will be the ICC Women's T20 World Cup European qualifiers and qualification for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.