THREE Warwickshire legends will be part of England’s coaching team for the Test series against Pakistan which starts at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Bears bowling coach Graeme Welch has been seconded as pace bowling consultant for the series and former Bears batsman Jonathan Trott is the batting consultant, while former captain and current overseas player Jeetan Patel will be the spin bowling consultant for the second and third Tests.
Patel’s England commitments will not prevent his availability to the Bears for the whole Vitality Blast campaign, while Performance Pathway Coach Richard Jones will temporarily step into Welch’s shoes at Edgbaston.
Warwickshire sport director Paul Farbrace believes it is “great news” for the Bears – and also for England – that the national set-up for the Pakistan series includes three men with the Bears in their DNA.
“One of the things Trevor Bayliss and I started with the England set-up a few years ago was getting county coaches involved,” he said.
“Matthew Walker and Glen Chapple have been invited in recently and I think that’s great for English cricket.
“There are some very good coaches in county cricket and it’s brilliant to see some of them being given opportunities to work with the England team.
“To see Pop, Jeets and Trotty all involved for this series is fantastic. It just shows the ethos as a club at Warwickshire. Whether you are a player or a coach, a member of the support staff of in the operational team, we want people to aspire to work at the highest level.
“If you look round our dressing room and see players coming back from England duty, that’s brilliant. Dom Sibley popped in last weekend to use the gym and the lads were quizzing him, ‘what’s it like playing for England’?
“If our coaches are also now being picked to go away and work with the England team, it says everything about them and their skills.
“Pop has got great experience and knowledge and now has a month with the England team so he will come back to the Bears with good ideas for our bowlers. They will be saying ‘tell us about Anderson, tell us about Broad’ and that’s the way it should be.
“Everybody here should be aspiring to work at the next level. In any role, you want people with ambition.
“If you have people with ambition and drive in your club then they are looking to get better every day, whatever job they do, and the club can only get better.”
Words by Brian Halford.
