The current England assistant coach is set to leave the set-up after the Windies tour to join Warwickshire as they Sporting Director.
After the departure of Ashley Giles from the club, Paul Farbrace has been appointed to succeed Giles in the Sporting Director role and take on a different role at the club than he will be used to when coaching the England team.
He is set to join up with the Bears after the conclusion of Englands tour to the West Indies, which finishes in March. From here he will leave his coaching role behind and oversee all cricket operations at the club. He will work closely with head coach Jim Troughton, as well as keeping a close eye on age group cricket and the women’s performance.
The timing means however he will miss a jam-packed summer for English cricket, where he will miss the world cup and an Ashes summer which will be a great loss for England, but Farbrace will be an amazing asset to Warwickshire. He has had a plethora of experience in terms of cricket which Warwickshire will be able to use to their advantage as they make their back into division one.
He was deemed the next England head coach when Trevor Bayliss’ contract finishes in September, although he did not consider staying or taking the role and therefore sought out an opportunity at Warwickshire.
It is no secret that Farbrace is always looking for a new challenge to set his eyes on, and it might not be a surprise to some that he did not take the England head coach job that he seemed to be nailed on for by others. This role offers him the chance to move away from coaching, and into a role that allows him to observe all aspects of cricket at a very successful club with excellent facilities, and the chance to stay at home a little bit more!
His appointment is a welcome one for members and supporters of the club who were disappointed to see the departure of Ashley Giles in December. It means a set of new eyes on all cricketing departments within the club, where fans have expressed their opinion on various aspects which will need his focus. These include the current performance pathway programme where it has become clear that Warwickshire lack an ability to produce home grown players like other counties do. Therefore there needs to be an attention on bridging the gap between Under 19’s and the senior squads to ensure the home grown talent that is emerging through the pathway does not get discarded and gets ample opportunity to make their mark at the club.
He will have to also turn his attention to filling the massive gaps that losing Trott last season, and the potential loss of Bell in coming season in the middle order. There is some youth players who would appreciate an opportunity, such as Liam Banks or Rob Yates, but there is no doubt that the batting will miss the talent of such illustrious players.
Ultimately, the new role is a huge boost for Warwickshire as they head back into Division One but will leave England in search of his replacement ahead of an important summer in both white and red ball cricket.
