Ireland name Heinrich Malan as new head coach

Malan, 40, who has been considered by a handful of counties in England for recent coaching vacancies, has previously been assistant coach for New Zealand men and head coach of New Zealand A

Heinrich Malan has been appointed as head coach of the Ireland men's team.

Malan, 40, who has been considered by a handful of counties in England for recent coaching vacancies, has previously been assistant coach for New Zealand men and head coach of New Zealand A.

He moves to the Irish setup from Auckland Aces, where he has been since 2019. He was previously the head coach at Central District Stags and, between 2011 and 2013, coached at Eastern Cricket Union in South Africa.

A right-handed batsman, his brief playing career featured 10 first-class and nine List A appearances in South Africa, the country of his birth.

"We have an exciting squad that has demonstrated that they have the ability to compete with the best players around the world. It is an exciting challenge and something that we, as a family, are really looking forward to," Malan said in a press release.

^{Heinrich Malan succeeds Graham Ford at Ireland (Stu Forster)}

Malan succeeds Graham Ford in the Ireland hotseat. Ford stepped down from the role after four years following his team's early exit from the T20 World Cup.

"A lot of credit has to go to Graham Ford, who has done a stellar job over the last four years. We have some serious building blocks in place which I believe we can build on going forward," Malan said.

"My coaching philosophy has certainly evolved over time and I am very keen to get to know this group of players and staff to collaboratively shape our environment through the way we want to operate on a daily basis.

"The 'wheel' in Irish cricket is turning nicely for the stage it is at, but this point in time is a great opportunity to review what - and how - we are operating to not only grow the wheel, but make that wheel turn quicker."

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