Former South African paceman Allan Donald has withdrawn his application for the post of England bowling coach and will remain involved with his country's high performance coaching programme.
"I have given much thought to the matter and have withdrawn my application for the England bowling coach post," Donald said in a statement released on Friday by Cricket South Africa (CSA).
"I will rather stay with Cricket South Africa's high performance programme and throw my full weight behind it. My heart lies with South African cricket and I want to do everything I can in the effort to make us the best in the world.
"I will also be writing to the board of Cricket South Africa to apologise for making a public statement about my England application before discussing the matter with CSA," Donald said.
Donald was appointed in October as a specialist bowling coach for CSA's high performance programme but announced last week that he had applied for the position of England bowling coach which would become vacant once Australian Troy Cooley returned home later this year.
The former Warwickshire professional had been shortlisted for the post and was due to attend interviews in February.
"Allan was one of South Africa's greatest bowlers and we do regard him as a national asset," CSA chief executive officer Gerald Majola said.
"He will continue working in the high performance programme as a specialist bowling coach in terms of a two-year contract, renewable after the next World Cup in 2007."
Donald, South Africa's second most successful bowler in test cricket with 330 wickets, wants to be more involved in the day-to-day affairs of the national team.
