Glamorgan turn to Croft

Robert Croft has been appointed as Glamorgan’s new head coach.

The former England and Glamorgan spinner replaces Toby Radford, who left the position in December after two years in charge of the Welsh county.

A statement on www.glamorgancricket.com read: “Glamorgan County Cricket Club have concluded their search for a new head coach with the appointment of Robert Croft.

“Croft, 45, has signed a rolling contract at The SSE SWALEC after emerging as the preferred candidate following a recruitment process led by chief executive Hugh Morris.”

Croft made his Glamorgan debut in 1989 and helped them win the County Championship in 1997 and Sunday League in 1993.

He played 21 Tests and 50 one-day internationals for England before retiring from first-class cricket at the end of the 2012 season, and for the last three years has been an assistant coach with Glamorgan.

Croft is currently working with England in South Africa as consultant spin bowling coach but will return to Cardff next week to oversee pre-season preparations with the Division Two side.

He said: “Glamorgan has been my home club for 28 years as a player and a coach and it was a very special moment when I was offered the chance to lead this group of players.

“I’m under no illusions as to the scale of the challenge that we will face but I have taken it on knowing that there is a collective desire to drive things forwards. The hard work starts now and I¹ll be looking to meet with the players and the back room team to firm up our plans as soon as I return to the UK.”

Chief executive Hugh Morris said: “There was significant interest in the role from a broad spectrum of coaching talent and while rival candidates had their merits, we concluded that Robert was the best man for the job.”

Croft made his Glamorgan debut in 1989 and went on to take 1,117 first-class wickets in a career punctuated by Championship success in 1997 – one of three in the county’s history – a Sunday League crown and 71 appearances for England in Tests and One-Day Internationals.

Efforts have been made in recent weeks to strengthen a thin first-team squad with Harry Podmore taken on loan from Middlesex to bolster pace bowling ranks during college absences and Timm van der Gugten, the Netherlands’ Australian-born seamer, also signed on a three-year contract.