Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson to leave county for England pathway role

He replaces Jon Lewis in the role, who was previously Young Lions head coach, after six successful seasons in charge at Bristol

Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson is to leave the county to become the ECB’s elite pathway coach.

He replaces Jon Lewis, who was previously Young Lions head coach. However, the reconfiguration of the role follows Lewis’ appointment as fast bowling coach to the England men’s team.

In his new post, Dawson, who will remain at Gloucestershire until mid-April, will lead England’s Young Lions programme and coach the under-19 team, while also coaching across the player pathway at Lions and England level, including supporting new spin bowling coach Jeetan Patel.

In charge of Gloucestershire for six successful seasons, Dawson’s side reached T20 Blast Finals Day for the first time in 13 years in 2020, won the Royal London One-Day Cup in 2015 and earned promotion to the top tier of the County Championship in 2019 with a side built around local talent, including Chris Dent, David Payne and James Bracey, who was handed his county debut under the former Yorkshire off-spinner and has since broken into the international setup.

George Hankins, Ben Charlesworth, Harry Hankins and Tom Price were also given debuts by the 40-year-old, who was responsible for the signings of Ryan Higgins, Graeme van Buuren, George Scott, Tom Lace and Jared Warner.

In his place, current assistant Ian Harvey will take over as the county’s interim head coach with the support of the existing coaching staff, with support from Matt Windows and chairman of cricket David Graveney.

Dawson also led the successful England Lions tour to Australia during the early months of 2020, a landmark trip that saw his squad go unbeaten – Dan Lawrence, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Dom Bess were among those involved. At the start of last summer, he also worked as England’s spin coach for the Test series against West Indies, following on from the previous winter, when he worked with Bess, Amar Virdi and Mason Crane on a specialist training camp in Mumbai.

^{Dawson spent six years as Gloucestershire head coach, having previously played for the county}

Speaking about his appointment, ECB performance director Mo Bobat explained: “Jon has done a fantastic job leading our Young Lions programme and England Under-19 team over the last couple of years. His change of role has provided the opportunity to look at that position with fresh eyes.

“Richard’s coaching pedigree speaks for itself and to have someone of his quality playing a prominent role in the development and preparation of our best young players is a real asset.”

Bobat added: “With a busy season of cricket fast approaching, I’m grateful to both Somerset and Gloucestershire for releasing Marcus and Richard in a timely manner and I’m looking forward to our new coaching team working together in the build-up to our summer international programme.

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“I’m also appreciative of the support that all counties have provided over the last 16 months, allowing us to engage their coaches whilst our own positions have remained vacant.”

He was the second-youngest head coach on the circuit when handed the Gloucestershire reins at 35 years of age – four years younger at the time than then-captain Geraint Jones.

Dawson said: “It has been a huge privilege to have been the head coach of Gloucestershire Cricket since 2015.

“As a playing and coaching unit, we have faced a lot of challenges off the field, and I’m proud of the togetherness of this squad, who have been incredibly supportive of one another through good and bad times. I’m confident the group is in a strong place with a healthy mix of experience and youth to compete in all formats of the game.

^{Dawson has been involved with England in a part-time coaching capacity since 2018}

“Thank you to the members and fans who have been amazing in supporting the players and coaching team throughout my time as head coach. I’d like to wish the team, coaching staff and everybody else at the club all the best for this season and beyond.

“I am looking forward to the challenge of this new role at ECB and leave with fantastic memories of my time at Gloucestershire.”

Will Brown, the club’s chief executive, added: “Richard has been a fantastic coach to work with from the outset engendering a belief and excitement that has filtered into all areas of the club. His dedication to building a positive and winning culture has been evident throughout his time in Bristol and the impact he made will be felt long after he is gone.

“Richard has taken huge pride in his role as head coach, working tirelessly to get the best out of himself and the players. His likeable easy-going personality, coupled with his commitment to Gloucestershire, garnered respect from the playing squad and meant he had a great rapport with the wider Club staff.

“He will be missed by players, staff and supporters alike, but we are all proud and pleased for Richard and glad that the opportunities provided for him at Gloucestershire have enabled this gateway to national recognition.”

Gloucestershire are set to begin a review of their cricketing requirements ahead of a formal recruitment process for Dawson later in the year.

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