England’s Paul Farbrace to join Warwickshire County Cricket Club as Sport Director

England Men’s Assistant Coach Paul Farbrace has accepted a role to become Warwickshire County Cricket Club’s Sport Director.

Farbrace, 51, who succeeds Ashley Giles, who left Edgbaston in December to take the position of Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket, will commence his position after England’s tour of the Caribbean, which concludes next month.

The former Kent and Middlesex wicketkeeper joined the England set-up in 2014 as assistant to Peter Moores, having guided Sri Lanka to the World T20 title in the same year as Head Coach.

During his time with England he helped kickstart the team’s white ball revolution, from being knocked out of the 2015 ICC Men’s World Cup at the group stages to becoming the No.1 ranked side in the world going into this summer’s ICC Men’s World Cup on home soil.

His brief first spell as interim Head Coach in 2015, included a drawn Test series with New Zealand followed by a one-day-series victory over the Black Caps before Trevor Bayliss took over as Head Coach and an ensuing Ashes victory later that summer.

Commenting on Farbrace’s departure, Ashley Giles, ECB Managing Director for England Men’s Cricket, said:

“I would like to thank Paul for all his efforts over the last five years as a key figure in England’s success across the red and white ball formats.

“Paul was integral, alongside, Andrew Strauss, Trevor Bayliss and Eoin Morgan, in transforming our white ball strategy, which has seen us become the best team in the world leading into a World Cup year. His efforts in developing players in the elite environment will benefit him in his new role at Edgbaston.

“He is an ambitious professional and highly regarded and respected in the game and the opportunity at Warwickshire County Cricket Club is something that would have been difficult for him to turn down. I respect his desire to take this on and wish him every success in leading the county on their return to the top flight of Specsavers County Championship.

“I will now start the process to find a successor and work closely with our existing set-up to ensure we have everything in place ahead of a busy summer of international cricket.

Speaking of his appointment, Farbrace, said:

“I have had five fantastic years with England Cricket. It has been a brilliant experience working with world-class coaches, players and support staff.

“I have been fortunate to taste some genuine success and be part of the development of some excellent players, who have the world at their feet this summer.

“There is never a great time to leave an international set-up and despite what will be a fantastic summer for English cricket, the opportunity to shape the future of one of the game’s biggest counties was too much to resist. It would have been tough for me to have turned down the opportunity once Warwickshire showed an interest in me.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity that Warwickshire’s Chairman Norman Gascoigne and Chief Executive Neil Snowball have offered me and I am looking forward to starting a new chapter in my career development.

“Finally, I would like to thank the ECB, and in particular, Trevor Bayliss, Eoin Morgan, Joe Root and Ashley Giles for their support in what has been a difficult decision to make. I wish them every success this summer. I believe they have the right attributes to create history by lifting the World Cup in July and winning The Ashes that follows it.”

Neil Snowball, Chief Executive of Warwickshire CCC, said:

“With his vast knowledge of our domestic game and his proven track record in the international arena, Paul has been one of the most sought-after coaches in recent years, and we are delighted that we have been able to secure his services here at Warwickshire.

“I would like to thank Tom Harrison, Ashley Giles and Trevor Bayliss for their support in this process and for allowing Paul to join up with the club ahead of the start of the 2019 season.”

Farbrace will officially start late March at Edgbaston in time for the start of the 2019 domestic season at the beginning of April.

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