Heinrich Malan, the South Africa-born Ireland cricket coach, has decided to step down from his post. The decision comes barely 24 hours after beating India in the two-match T20I series that ended on Sunday. This was the first time Team India had lost a T20I series since August 2023, a period in which they had won 16 successive series.
45-year-old put out a statement which read “It has been an absolute privilege to work with these players, staff, and wider Irish cricket community. My family and I have had a wonderful experience living here, and we will look back on our time involved in Irish cricket with great affection.”
Malan’s statement also read, “On the field, we can look back with great pride on our historic T20 World Cup win over England in Melbourne. Our first-ever Test victory over Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi, andthe first home Test win over Zimbabwe at home in Belfast. The current series win over India and also the triumphs over teams like West Indies, Pakistan, and South Africa as well as direct qualification for the T20 WC through our consistent ability to challenge big teams and beat them.”
The former South Africa domestic player became Ireland’s coach in early 2022 and has completed four years at the helm. His term was supposed to end next year, and he decided to make way for a new member to take the team forward with the 2027 ODI World Cup in sight.
Gary Wilson named new coach
Former Ireland cricketer Gary Wilson was named as the new coach after Malan decided to step down. The 40-year-old is a former left-handed batter and wicketkeeper who was a mainstay for his side in a career which spanned over a decade.
Wilson played two Tests, scoring 45 runs, but it was in the white-ball format that he found success. He was part of 104 ODI matches, scoring 2072 runs with an average of 23, hitting one century and 12 fifties. Ireland’s new coach also played 81 T20I games, scoring 1268 runs with three fifties and a strike rate of 104. The last of which came against the West Indies in early 2020.
The hosts beat Shreyas Iyer’s side on Sunday by 1 run to claim an historic first-ever T20I series win. Lorcan Tucker’s side had also won the opening game of the series by 34 runs in Belfast last Friday.
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