South African Heinrich Malan has been appointed as the new head coach of the Ireland cricket team.
40-year-old Malan is set to replace compatriot Graham Ford on a three-year deal, and will take the reins from March 2022 onwards.
A former first class cricketer in South Africa from 2005-2009 - where he was a middle order batsman and medium fast bowler - Malan arrives in Ireland from New Zealand.
He has more than 11 years first class coaching experience, including as the head coach of New Zealand A and as an assistant, batting and fielding coach for the Black Caps.
He is currently in charge of the Auckland Aces, who he guided to domestic one-day success in the 2019-20 Ford Trophy.
On his appointment, Malan said: “It’s very humbling and a huge honour to be appointed Head Coach of the Ireland Men’s team. We have an exciting squad that has demonstrated that they have the ability to compete with the best players around the world. It is an exciting challenge and something that we, as a family, are really looking forward to.
“A lot of credit has to go to Graham Ford, who has done a stellar job over the last four years. We have some serious building blocks in place which I believe we can build on going forward.
“My coaching philosophy has certainly evolved over time and I am very keen to get to know this group of players and staff to collaboratively shape our environment through the way we want to operate on a daily basis. The ‘wheel’ in Irish cricket is turning nicely for the stage it is at, but this point in time is a great opportunity to review what - and how - we are operating to not only grow the wheel, but make that wheel turn quicker.
“While I came up through the South African system, the opportunity to move to New Zealand in 2013 really enhanced my coaching experiences and created opportunities to progress my coaching career. Hopefully, I can share these experiences and help our players improve and compete consistently across formats. And that is the key - to create greater consistency of performance over the long term.”
Meanwhile Cricket Ireland’s high performance director, Richard Holdsworth, said: “We are delighted to have secured Heinrich as men’s Head Coach and look forward to supporting him in taking the international men’s side forward during what will be an extremely busy period for the squad.
“Heinrich has worked in world-class environments at international and domestic levels, and has forged a reputation as an innovative coach with an interest and willingness to do things differently - taking a more holistic view of the game.”
Malan will be an interested observer as Ireland take on West Indies in three ODIs and a T20 international this month, with the series getting underway at Sabina Park on Saturday January 8th.
Ireland in the West Indies (all fixtures held at Sabina Park, Jamaica):
First ODI, Saturday January 8th (2.30pm start Irish time, BT Sport)
Second ODI, Tuesday January 11th (2.30pm start Irish time, BT Sport)
Third ODI, Friday Janaury 14th (2.30pm start Irish time, BT Sport)
T20 International, Sunday January 16th (9pm Irish time, BT Sport)
