Cumbrian Paul Nixon has been put on gardening leave by Leicestershire and is unlikely to return to his position as head coach.
The 52-year-old former wicket-keeper, who started his career with Edenhall in the old Cumberland Senior League, has held the position for almost six years.
His departure comes at a time when Leicestershire have had varying degrees of success in the two forms of the game.
In Division Two of the County Championship they sit in a challenging third position with two wins and four draws out of seven games. One of the victories was over Yorkshire at Headingley – their first there since 1910.
However, they have only won just two Vitality Blast matches out of 11, and sit bottom of the North Group.
Claude Henderson, who returned to the club as director of cricket in 2021 to work with Nixon, is likely to oversee first team duties until the end of the season with the help of assistant coach Alfonso Thomas.
Nixon made his first-class debut in 1989 with Leicestershire and with them he won two Championship titles in 1996 and 1998.
He played for the club until 2000 when he moved to Kent and spent two years there before returning to Leicestershire in 2003.
During his second stint at Leicester, Nixon won the Twenty20 cup twice and helped them reach final day from 2003-2006. His highest score for Leicestershire was a career best 144 not out against Northamptonshire in 2006.
In August 2007, it was announced that Nixon would be the new club captain for all competitions, after signing a three-year contract.
It was also in 2007 that Nixon won an England call-up at the age of 36 for a One Day international series against Australia and New Zealand and also later that year for the inaugural white ball World Cup.
He retired in August 2011 at the end of a 23-year career.
