England have appointed Chris Silverwood as their new head coach to replace Trevor Bayliss, who stepped down last month at the end of his contract.
While former India and South Africa coach Gary Kirsten and Surrey's director of cricket Alec Stewart emerged as contenders to succeed the Australian, Silverwood was described as the "outstanding candidate" by a three-man England and Wales Cricket Board selection panel.
Under Bayliss, England won the 50-over World Cup this summer for the first time but Australia retained the Ashes after the series was drawn 2-2 in the UK.
SIlverwood, who led Essex to their first County Championship title in 25 years in 2017, said: "I am thrilled and honoured to be appointed England head coach.
"I aim to continue the great work that has been done over the past five years and build on our future, especially in the Test arena.
"I have enjoyed working with the players over the past two seasons, and developing the best crop of talent in the English game. I am excited to get started and build teams that the whole game can be proud of."
Managing director of England men's cricket Ashley Giles, who was on the selection panel, cited Silverwood's knowledge of the current set-up as a factor.
"We are delighted to confirm Chris as England men's head coach. We have gone through a thorough process and looked at all the options that were available to us. Chris was the standout candidate," he said.
"I believe he is what we need to take our international teams forward. He is somebody we know well, but it is his intimate understanding of our structures and systems and his close relationships with Test captain Joe Root and white-ball captain Eoin Morgan that will help us develop our plans for the next few years.
"He has performed exceptionally well during his role as an assistant coach and has the ultimate respect of the players that have worked with him."
Before joining England's backroom staff in late 2017, Silverwood presided over County Championship triumphs in both divisions with Essex.
Following a four-year cycle under Bayliss in which there was a greater emphasis on the limited-overs formats, Giles has already indicated the balance will be tipped back towards Test cricket.
Silverwood, 44, will take charge for England's tour of New Zealand starting next month, when they play five Twenty20s and two Test matches.
He becomes just the second Englishman to take sole charge of the national side since 1999.
Peter Moores held the role on two separate occasions, both of which were largely unsuccessful, while Giles had a brief job-share with Zimbabwean Andy Flower in the role of limited-overs coach.
