England have appointed Chris Silverwood as their new head coach.

The 44-year-old has spent the past two years serving as fast bowling coach under 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.

Silverwood 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."