Former England batsman Jonathan Trott has been named as England Under-19 team’s batting coach for the upcoming World Cup, scheduled to be played in New Zealand, next year. On the other hand, Jon Lewis, former England bowler, has been appointed as the head coach.
The decision to hire Trott came after the former international batsman impressed with his stint at England Lions’ training camp in Loughborough last month before the team left for Australia. Lewis is currently with the England Lions team in Australia.
Meanwhile, England had initially named Steve Rhodes as the team’s coach, but he was pulled out of the team’s ongoing tri-series in South Africa after he was asked to go on leave for failing to inform the arrest of cricketer Alex Hepburn on two counts of rape, reported ESPNcricinfo. As of now, the team is being coached by Gloucestershire coach Richard Dawson, but Lewis will take charge after the ongoing series.
Welcoming the appointments, ECB’s performance director David Parsons said:
“We are delighted that Jon Lewis and Jonathan Trott have accepted our invitations to join the England Under-19s at the World Cup, and grateful to their counties Sussex and Warwickshire for releasing them to do so.
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“Jon has experience of the International Pathway having worked with the Under-19s on their tour of India last winter, and is currently with the Lions in Australia. Trotty was invited to help the Lions in their preparations for Australia by Andy Flower, and made a really positive impression on all the players and coaches during their week at the Performance Centre, so it’s good to be able to offer him the opportunity to gain further coaching experience at a World Cup – and to share his considerable international experience with our next generation of batsmen,” Parsons added.
Trott, who had represented South Africa at the 2000 World Cup, represented England in 52 Tests and 68 ODIs, scoring over 6,000 runs with the help of 13 centuries and 41 fifties. Lewis, on the other hand, represented England in one Test and 13 ODIs.
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Parson further thanked Dawson for accepting the invitation to coach the under-19 team on short notice. Dawson is accompanied by former England batsman James Taylor, fast-bowling coach Neil Killeen and fielding coach Chris Taylor. James Taylor, Neil Killeen and Chris Taylor will be with the team during the World Cup too.
“We are also indebted to Richard Dawson for stepping up at short notice as head coach in South Africa, and also to James Taylor, Neil Killeen and Chris Taylor for their work with the squad. Not only do these experiences offer great learning opportunities for talented young players, but they are also excellent exposure to international cricket for aspiring coaches,” Parsons said.
Meanwhile, the twelfth editing of the World Cup will take place in New Zealand between January 13 and February 3. England will leave for New Zealand on January 2 and will take on Ireland and Sri Lanka in warm-up games before locking horns against Namibia, Bangladesh and Canada in the group games.
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