Graeme West. (Photo Source: Cricket Ireland)
Graeme West, the current Cricket West Indies (CWI) High Performance Manager has been appointed Cricket Ireland (CI) Director of High Performance and will start in the role next month.
West, who holds the highest ECB Coaching qualification (Level 4), also boasts a World Cup in his list of coaching achievements, leading the West Indies Under-19s to success in the final against Rahul Dravid’s India in Bangladesh in 2016.
Starting his coaching career with Middlesex County Cricket Club, West held the position of Academy Director for five years. He developed a fruitful relationship with Brian O’Rourke and helped guide talented young Irish players including Andrew and Stuart Poynter, Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie through the Middlesex system.
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In 2012, West was recruited to head up CWI High Performance Centre in Barbados, nurturing the region’s outstanding young talent. Following a period in charge of the Under-19s and ‘A’ Team, he moved to Antigua where he took up his current role as CWI High Performance Manager, responsible for the expansion of the High Performance Pathway, including the creation of Academy programs designed to ensure the continued growth of talented young players, elite coaches and sports science staff across the region.
Speaking from his home in Antigua, West said: “I would like to thank Cricket West Indies for the opportunities provided to me and my family over the last twelve years, working with world class players and coaches has supported my professional development and enhanced my love and passion for the game of cricket.
“I am delighted to be joining Cricket Ireland as the organisation continues to grow and strengthen. The Strategic Plan for 2024-27 is incredibly exciting and I look forward to applying my experience and philosophy to the wealth of talent and expertise that has been assembled as we further establish Ireland as a major cricketing nation.
“Recent achievements on the field have increased my excitement in leading the Cricket Ireland High Performance Team. The Senior Women’s successes against Sri Lanka demonstrate the young squad’s great potential and talent, the Senior Men’s triumph in Test Cricket highlight the positive strides being made in red-ball cricket.
“The Emerging Ireland sides triumphs against the West Indies and the Under-19s Women’s achievements at Loughborough are a testament to the great work being delivered by the coaching and support staff and the structures put in place to identify, develop and manage young talent,” West added.
Warren Deutrom, CEO of Cricket Ireland, said: “When we set out to create and recruit for the role, the profile, initiative and experience that Graeme possesses is exactly what we were looking for. We knew that in order to be successful in this new role, the candidate required leadership experience, exceptional people skills, and the ability to be a mentor as much as a manager.
“In Graeme, we believe we have found that candidate. Having built a global network of contacts through his coaching and management roles, Graeme is well versed in the strategic preparation for ICC events and bi-lateral series and understands the logistical demands to plan and schedule international development series. Experience that will be invaluable for this role.
“As an organisation, we are going through a process of reviewing and evolving our operations to ensure we are fit-for-purpose as a Full Member in a rapidly changing environment. One of the strategic decisions we made was to acknowledge the scale and scope of our work has outgrown our pre-Full Member structures. Subsequently, we decided – off the back of numerous recommendations – to see the current High Performance Director role split into more manageable component parts, in line with other Full Member nations.
“We look forward to Graeme starting and taking us forward.”