Graham Ford appointed as the new Ireland head Coach

Top notch South African Graham Ford has been elected as the new head coach for Ireland. The 56-year-old penned a 3-year deal which will see him join the team in the month of December. He will take over the reigns from John Bracewell whose contracts comes to a dead end in December. Ford boasts of a 25-year long coaching experience where he has served as the Test coach for South Africa and Sri Lanka twice. He was also a notable first-class player.

The right handed cricketer also had the privilege to coach Natal, Surrey and Kent which sums up his coaching career in the domestic circuit. Speaking about his involvement with the Ireland team, Ford said that he is delighted to engage himself with this new era of Irish Cricket.

What Ford said:

“I am really excited to be a part of this new era in Irish cricket. I have always enjoyed working with decent people and, in their attitude, character and camaraderie, the Irish cricketers have always come across as such,” said Ford.

“With my knowledge and experience I believe I can genuinely make a difference. All my efforts will be dedicated to assisting the players to improve and achieve their full potential while playing an enjoyable brand of cricket.” he added.

Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom expressed his happiness on roping in Ford as the head coach for his brilliant statistics at the international level. Speaking about the same Warren mentioned that Ford has the capacity to shape winning teams for every format of the game.

“We are delighted to have a person of Graham’s calibre as Ireland’s next Head Coach and we are all looking forward to working with him,” said Deutrom. “Graham has a strong reputation for man-management, of improving individual and team performances at all levels, and has shown how to build winning teams in all three formats” he said.

“He is well respected throughout the cricketing world, and we believe his coaching CV sends out a strong signal of our intention to try and hit the ground running as quickly as possible as a competitive force among the Full Member nations.” added Warren.

Cricket Ireland Performance Director Richard Holdsworth pointed out why Ford was selected to lead and guide the team from a long list of applicants.

“Graham’s reputation for improving young players, his work ethic and huge knowledge were among the key factors for his appointment,” said Holdsworth. “The panel was strongly persuaded by Graham’s clear understanding of what the Ireland team and Irish cricket in general needs right now, while he is already familiar with some of our players through his coaching spells at Kent and Surrey.” Holdsworth stated.

“In the short term, his expertise in the shorter forms of the game will also be vital as we build towards two major ICC events over the next three years – including the ICC World Cup Qualifier in the first half of 2018 – while longer term he is aiming to strengthen the national team in its rebuilding process from a core of long-established players to a younger less experienced team.” added Holdsworth.

“John Bracewell and his support staff continue to plan the next few months, while a hand-over with Graham during the tour to UAE in late November and early December has been mutually agreed, after which Graham will take charge.” he concluded.