Jon Lewis: England Cricket Board has appointed three former international cricketers in full-time roles with the national team.
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It was in December last year that England had advertised for three full-time coaches namely batting, pace bowling and spin bowling. It required ECB (England Cricket Board) more than two months but they have eventually announced the names of the selected candidates to further bolster their support staff across formats.
Former England opening batsman Marcus Trescothick, who had also played the role of their batting consultant for a brief white-ball stint last year, has been named as the batting coach of the national team.
Trescothick, 45, who had last played international cricket one and a half decade ago, will join the team in mid-March after resigning from his ongoing role of being the assistant coach of Somerset.
“This is a great opportunity which will allow me to further my coaching career and gain more experience,” Trescothick said in a Somerset press release. “It’s a decision that comes with a heavy heart, but I think that it is the right move for me at this time. I’ll be working across different areas from Young Lions, to Lions and also with the First Team as well.
“It’s about preparing batters and getting them ready to move on to higher honours as they go along. The fact that I can do a few different roles within the position will really help me develop and give me exposure to some high-level coaching.”
Jon Lewis and Jeetan Patel get bowling roles
Other than Trescothick, former England seamer Jon Lewis and former New Zealand spinner Jeetan Patel have been appointed as the pace bowling and spin bowling coaches respectively.
While the last of Lewis’ 15 international appearances had come during India’s tour of England in 2007, the last of Patel’s 78 international appearances had come during the Ireland Tri-National series involving New Zealand and Bangladesh in 2017. It is worth mentioning that both Lewis and Patel are currently with the English team in India performing the same roles.
The recently announced trio will now join a star-studded coaching lineup comprising of Chris Silverwood (head coach), Graham Thorpe (assistant coach) and Paul Collingwood (assistant coach).
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve been working to grow our pool of players that are ready to play for England, achieving the type of depth that has enabled us to compete successfully across formats, both home and away,” ECB Performance Director Mo Bobat said in a statement. “The Elite Coaches will play an important role in enhancing this depth further, helping us to sustain success over time. We want to be renowned and respected for the quality of our coaching.
“Following an extensive recruitment process, I’m really excited about the calibre of the individuals that we’ve appointed into these specialist roles. Marcus, Jon and Jeetan have demonstrated their ability at the highest level and also show huge potential for the future. Working alongside Carl Hopkinson, our current Elite Fielding Coach, we have the makings of a strong specialist coaching team, possessing a diverse range of experience.
