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Cape Town - In a joint statement with Paul Adams, Western Cape Cricket today announced that he will be stepping down as coach of the Cape Cobras on 1 January to take up the new position of Western Cape Cricket High Performance Manager and Coach.
This will entail Adams identifying and mentoring future Cobras players, working closely with the Western Province, Boland and South Western Districts coaches and his successor at the franchise.
"These high performance plans have been several years in planning to ensure that the crucial pipeline to the Cobras remains strong," said WCC CEO Nabeal Dien. "Given recent results and issues in the franchise team, Paul and ourselves have decided that now is the time to action these plans and we feel he is ideally equipped for this job," he added.
In his five seasons as coach, Adams not only won five trophies with the Cobras, making him the most successful current coach in franchise cricket, but he has also had a hand in getting a number of talented players like Beuran Hendricks, Dane Piedt, Dane Paterson and George Linde ready for the top level. Recently he also helped get Wayne Parnell back on track with the Proteas.
Adams commented, “Helping the team to succeed in ways which led to a number of trophies and getting players going up to the Proteas was a very satisfying part of my five season journey as Cobras’ coach.”
“Recruiting world stars who delivered like Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard and working with senior players was also rewarding,” he said. “Here I especially want to thank the dedicated long-standing captain Justin Ontong and Charl Langeveldt, whose knowledge and feel for the game proved valuable at key moments.”
“I am looking forward very much to my new role,” he concluded.
Beresford Williams, Chairperson of the WCC Board, said Paul is a brand in his own right and we are thrilled that he will continue serving Western Cape cricket in a new capacity: “The youngest South African test player with 21 years of top cricket experience, the highest coaching qualification of level 4 available in South Africa and five trophies to his name, he is national cricket treasure.”
Williams rejected with contempt certain allegations that Adams’ successes as coach had somehow been the result of outside factors and said he had been a model in his passion and approach.
Dien concurred saying, “Paul still has a great deal to offer South African cricket and we look forward to his continued contribution to the success of Western Cape Cricket.”
