The Director of Cricket for Worcestershire Steve Rhodes is all set to nurse the Young Lions as a head coach on a temporary basis until the culmination of ICC Under-19 World Cup which will be held in New Zealand in January, next year.
After his appointment on an interim basis, the England Cricket Board’s Performance Director David Parsons revealed to avail the services of Rhodes was the best option, as Hurry would part ways, before the start of 2018 Under-19 World Cup.
“Losing Andy [Hurry] at the start of a busy and challenging winter left us needing to find a high-quality replacement, and we believe that appointing Steve Rhodes on an interim basis is an excellent solution,” Parsons was quoted in ECB release.
Since April 2006, the former England wicket-keeper batsman Rhodes has been managing the operations of the Worcestershire English County Club and would replace Andy Hurry, who has been nominated as the Director of Cricket for long-established club Somerset.
While focusing on players’ all-round development in the backroom, the delighted Rhodes has played a significant part in helping Worcestershire to achieve best, owing to the different promotions in recent past many years.
“It is an honour to be asked to work for your country at any level, and I’m really excited about this chance to work with the Young Lions this winter. I’m grateful to everyone at Worcestershire for allowing me to take this opportunity,” Rhodes maintained.
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Moreover, Rhodes has expressed his satisfaction on the interim basis while stating he has enjoyed the stint with the Young Lions in Dubai which eventually allowed him to learn more owing to the international level.
Pertinently, Rhodes is bound to join Hurry under the training programme for the English squad before returning to the original position in the Worcestershire club.
Parsons admitted the fact by saying Rhodes will nurse the players after overseeing the team in November, before leaving the New Zealand for the 50-over major ICC competition.
“Steve will work alongside Andy in the early stages of the Young Lions winter programme, before taking over ahead of the World Cup in New Zealand,” Parsons remarked.
Before making himself available for Worcestershire’s 2018 season, the challenges would be thrown at Rhodes which will start with the training camp slated for November 11 and 14 in Spain’s southern part.
The Lions will play Tri-Nation series against South Africa and Namibia between November 22 and December 11.
Parsons adamant in approach reiterated they are looking forward to finding the full-time coach while banking on the experiences of Rhodes while adding he is thankful for the Worcestershire for releasing latter owing to the national allegiance.
“His appointment allows us to take our time over searching for a permanent successor to Andy Hurry as head coach of the Young Lions programme,” Rhodes concluded.
Shouldering the responsibility, Rhodes will further fly alongside Young Lions squad to New Zealand on January 02, as the tournament will kick off from January 13 and England boys will play their opener on January 15 against Namibia in Queenstown.
The Under-19 side for England will also feature in their two warm-up fixtures on January 09 and 11 respectively.