Neil Killeen appointed men's Elite Pace Bowling Coach

The England and Wales Cricket Board has appointed Neil Killeen as men’s Elite Pace Bowling Coach.

Killeen, 47, joins from his home county Durham where he has been a player and coach for 30 years. He has been a bowling coach at Durham since 2011, most recently as the club’s Assistant Lead and Head Bowling Coach, and will begin his new role from 18 January following an open recruitment process.

Killeen replaces Jon Lewis, who was appointed as England Women’s Head Coach in November, and will work across the England Men’s pathways programmes, with a focus on developing and preparing England Men’s next-in-line pace bowlers.

During his playing days Killeen made more than 300 appearances across all formats for Durham and is the club’s leading wicket-taker in List A cricket.

Killeen said: “I’m delighted to be appointed Elite Pace Bowling Coach with the ECB and can’t wait to get started with a new challenge.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining the ECB, as there is a wealth of fast-bowling talent and coaching around the country that I’m looking forward to working with in order to maintain England’s strong contingent of pace bowlers in the future.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone at Durham for the continued support both as a player and a coach over the last 30 years, it has been a great journey.

“A big thank you also to all the members for their continued support throughout my career. I look forward to returning and watching alongside them in the future. It has been an honour to represent the club and I would like to wish them continued success for the future.”

England Performance Director, Mo Bobat, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve been able to appoint someone of Neil’s calibre and experience into the role of Elite Pace Bowling Coach.

“Neil has a proven track record of developing world-class pace bowlers and, at a time when we have an abundance of pace-bowling talent, having someone of his quality to oversee their progress, as well as work with counties on their programmes, represents a real asset for us.

“In addition to supporting the six players currently on pace bowling development contracts, Neil’s coaching will focus primarily at Lions level, but will also see him move up and down the pathway, working with England bowlers and our Young Lions programme.

“I’d like to specifically thank Durham for releasing Neil so swiftly from his responsibilities there, enabling Neil to get started with us almost immediately.”

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