Heinrich Malan appointed new Ireland head coach

The South Africa-born 40-year-old will take up the post in March, subject to work permit approval, and has agreed an initial three-year contract.

Malan, a right-handed middle-order batter and medium-fast bowler, played first-class cricket in South Africa between 2005 and 2009, representing Combined Eastern-Northerns XI and Northern Cricket Union – captaining the latter during the 2006-07 season.

He played in teams that featured then-developing international cricketers Neil Wagner and Roloef van der Merwe, as well as future South African international and former CIYMS overseas professional Rassie van der Dussen.

“It’s very humbling and a huge honour to be appointed Head Coach of the Ireland Men’s team,” Malan said.

“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,” he added.

“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.”

Malan intends to put the experience he gained in South Africa to good use when he takes up the role with Ireland in March.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Since finishing his first-class playing career, Malan has gained more than 11 years’ first-class coaching experience in South Africa and New Zealand.

He holds a Level 3 Coaching Certificate from Cricket South Africa, and amongst his more recent roles have seen him take on Assistant Coach and Fielding Lead for the New Zealand Men’s cricket team and Head Coach of New Zealand A. He has also held the batting coach role for the Black Caps.

Richard Holdsworth, High Performance Director for Cricket Ireland, said he was ‘delighted’ with the appointment of Malan.

“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,” he said.

“Despite coming from outside the Irish system, Heinrich clearly articulated an understanding of the Irish cricket identity, and is determined to succeed in bonding the senior squad around these ideals.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdowns having had a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry, Editor