ECB appoints three new national coaches

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has appointed three new national coaches to aid its coach and player development programmes throughout the country. Assisted by funding from Sport England, the ECB has appointed Toby Radford as national coach for the South, Andy Pick for the North East and David Parsons for the West Midlands.

The three new coaches will join four existing coaches - Tim Boon (East Midlands), Keith Tomlins (West), Paul Farbrace (East) and John Abrahams (North West) - thus providing more comprehensive national coach support across the country.

The seven national coaches are responsible for raising the standard of coaching at all levels across the country, and for identifying, selecting and developing talented young cricketers in their regions. The three new coaches will begin their jobs in early May.

Hugh Morris, ECB's Technical Director, said, "The appointment of three new coaches represents a huge step forward in our efforts to produce the best cricket coaching structure in the world. It will enable us to provide a much better service across the country and embark on a number of coaching projects which, until now, we have not had time to do."

In coach education , the national coaches are responsible for monitoring Level I and Level II courses and delivering Level III courses of the Rover National Coaching Scheme. They continually monitor and evaluate new coaching techniques in a bid to improving existing programmes, with the ultimate aim of developing the best coach education system in the world.

In nurturing talented young cricketers, they play a key role in identifying promising players at Under 13, Under 14 and Under 15 levels, and they liaise with County Boards to ensure that the best youngsters are on the relevant coaching courses.

The national coaches also form part of the coaching structure for the National Under 15, Under 17 and Under 19 squads. In addition, they assist in specific development projects such as the evolution of County Academies or the development of player performance diaries for young County Cricketers.

The new coaches Toby Radford, 28, leaves his post as Cricket Development Officer in Berkshire. He played professional cricket for Middlesex for eight years and for two years at Sussex, and also represented England at Under 19 level.

Andy Pick, 36, currently cricket professional at Bedford School, played for Nottinghamshire for 15 years as an opening bowler and took 496 First Class wickets. He retired from the professional game at the end of 1997.

David Parsons, 32, has worked at Warwickshire Cricket Board for the past five years, where he is now Cricket Development Manager. He played cricket for West Bromwich Dartmouth Cricket Club in the Birmingham League.