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Gary Kirsten leaves Welsh Fire after winless 2022 season

Head coach pays price for run of losses

Matt Roller
Matt Roller
22-Nov-2022
Former South African opening batsman Gary Kirsten went winless in 14 consecutive matches at Welsh Fire  •  Getty Images

Former South African opening batsman Gary Kirsten went winless in 14 consecutive matches at Welsh Fire  •  Getty Images

Gary Kirsten has left his role as Welsh Fire's head coach in the men's Hundred after overseeing a winless 2022 season.
Kirsten, 54, spent both of the Hundred's first two seasons with the Cardiff-based team but, after winning their first two games, their results nosedived: they won one of their final six fixtures in 2021 and despite a squad overhaul at the draft, lost all eight matches in 2022.
Kirsten had initially planned to build his side around Jonny Bairstow as captain, but he has only played for them twice since his Test recall last year. Unlike most of their rivals, Fire have struggled to foster a team culture or a sense of identity.
His exit was long expected but only ratified recently. The decision was made by Fire's board, which is run by the chief executives of Glamorgan, Gloucestershire and Somerset, the Welsh businesswoman Aileen Richards (who acts as an independent director) and Glamorgan head of operations Dan Cherry, with Mark Wallace serving as general manager.
Kirsten confirmed his departure to ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday following a report in the Daily Telegraph.
Candidates to replace Kirsten could include Paul Farbrace, the former England assistant coach, who revealed earlier this month that he is open to working in the Hundred after leaving his job as Warwickshire's director of cricket.

Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98