Sussex appoint former England international Sarah Taylor and Ashley Wright to coaching staff

Taylor, a three-time World Cup winner, will work with the county's wicketkeepers while Wright will support the batting coaching

Sussex have appointed former England international Sarah Taylor and Ashley Wright to their coaching staff for the 2021 season.

The duo will work with the professional squad and the Sussex cricket pathway on a part-time basis, with Taylor focussing on the club’s wicketkeepers and Wright supporting lead batting coach, Jason Swift.

Regarded as one of the best wicketkeepers of all time, Taylor earned 226 England caps and completed 227 dismissals – the most in women’s cricket – during her 13-year international career. She also scored over 7,000 international runs and won both the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (2009, 2017) and ICC Women’s World T20 (2009).

Former Leicestershire batsman, Wright, is a Level 4-qualified coach specialising in human movement and biomechanics. The 40-year old has previously worked with Surrey and Bangladesh Premier League side, Rajshaji Kings, and was the head coach of Guernsey for four years.

Commenting on her appointment, Taylor said: "I’m really pleased about working with the club’s wicketkeepers. From Ben Brown and Phil Salt in the professional squad and down through the pathway, we have a really talented group of keepers at Sussex who I am looking forward to working with immensely.

"I want to share my experience and expertise to help them get the most out of their game. I’m a big believe in keeping things simple and perfecting the basics so that players can enjoy and express themselves with the gloves."

Wright shared Taylor's excitement, adding:"I am honoured to be part of the Sussex coaching team, working as the professional batting support, and equally thrilled to be working with a very talented group of young batters in the pathway."

Sussex’s joint head coach, Ian Salisbury praised the pairs’ cricketing expertise, stating: "As with everything we do, the decision to add Sarah and Ash to our coaching staff is based on our strategic aim to produce homegrown or ‘Sussex-fied’ players who will ensure the club is competing in all formats and providing as many players for England as possible in the future.

"They both bring a huge amount of cricketing knowledge, skill and experience, as well as a fantastic work ethic, to the entirety of our player pathway. Equally as important, Sarah and Ash both fit our mantra of coaching the whole person, not just the cricketer very well."

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Meanwhile, fellow head coach, James Kirtley, added: "Sarah has so much to offer our players, but also our environment. She is hugely skilled in the world of wicketkeeping, but she will also bring so much good as a person around our group.

"She adds great perspective to a situation and as a coach she provides an excellent sounding board for ideas and is a fantastic communicator. I am certain she will become a huge asset to our setup.

"With his slightly different skill set, Ash will add tremendous value to the work we do with our batters. His knowledge of human movement coupled with his experience of playing is an exciting combination."

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