Former Tasmania player returns as assistant coach

Allister de Winter, the former Tasmania player, will return to Hobart as an assistant coach with the Tigers next season. He replaces Michael Bevan, who stayed on in an off-field role after his retirement in January but has now gone home to New South Wales.

From 1986-87 to 1992-93, de Winter, a fast bowler, played 21 first-class matches for Tasmania and ten limited-overs games. Tim Coyle, the Tigers' coach, said de Winter had a lot to offer. "It is great that we have someone dedicated to the bowling program, and Allister is an experienced coach who will definitely add plenty of value to the program," Coyle said.

After his playing days ended, de Winter was a regional game development manager in Tasmania before moving to Western Australia as a zone coaching manager and he relocated to Bangladesh in 2005. There, he served as a high-performance manager, head coach of the National Cricket Academy and was coach of the Bangladesh Under-19 team.

However, de Winter said he was keen to return to Tasmania after the Tigers won the Pura Cup for the first time in 2006-07. "There are exciting times ahead after the success of the Pura Cup final last season and I'm looking forward to working with a talented group of young players and developing young bowlers throughout the state," de Winter said.