TOBY RADFORD has been appointed by Cricket Ireland as National Academy and Performance Manager of the Shapoorji Pallonji CI Academy.
The 44-year-old has a wealth of playing and coaching experience, both at domestic and international level, including roles with the West Indies and England Lions.
Radford, who was an MCC Young Cricketer of the Year, played county cricket with Middlesex and Sussex before moving into coaching, where his impressive portfolio includes head coach roles at Middlesex and Glamorgan.
The appointment of Radford is another important step for Irish cricket towards its long stated objective of gaining ICC Full Member status - joining the Test match-playing nations - and towards retaining the best young talent in Ireland.
“I am really looking forward to joining Cricket Ireland at such an exciting time for the organisation," said Radford. "Ireland has forged a strong and well-established reputation for producing high quality young cricketers, and its national team has performed with great distinction on the international stage over the past decade.
“I have always been passionate about unearthing and coaching young talent and the opportunity to do so with Cricket Ireland, as it seeks to obtain full Test Match playing status, is hugely motivating," added Radford.
"Youth and domestic cricket continues to grow impressively in Ireland, while receiving more and more all-round public and private support. The future looks truly bright for Cricket Ireland, and I very much look forward to being part of it. I’m excited about working closely with John Bracewell and Richard Holdsworth and can’t wait to get started in the role.”
Radford will commence his new role on August 1st and his appointment was welcomed by Cricket Ireland Performance Director Richard Holdsworth who said: "We are very pleased to secure the services of Toby. We see him as an integral part of overseeing the development of our most talented young players and those on the fringes of the national team over the coming years.
"We are now looking to develop our talent into world class players who are capable of performing against the best in the world in all three formats. Toby’s experience of coaching at international and first class level will bring great understanding of what it takes to perform at the highest level.
"He also has a wealth of knowledge and experience in coach development at the highest level, an area very important to us as we aim to develop more home based coaches at elite levels."
Established in 2013, the Shapoorji Pallonji Cricket Ireland Academy aims to identify and support the most talented young male and female players in the country, and provide them with a bespoke world-class player development programme in order to have the best possible chance of success on the international stage.