Ireland men’s high performance coach Gary Wilson will head to South Africa next week to join the Pretoria Capitals coaching staff.
Wilson joins as a consultant coach ahead of the start of SA20, the franchise cricket tournament, starting on January 10, 2024.
The 37-year-old made 292 appearances for Ireland’s men’s national team before retiring in 2020.
He then went on to coach the North West Warriors and from 2021 was the High Performance Batting and Wicketkeeping Coach for the Ireland Men’s Senior Team.
He joins Pretoria Capitals in the SA20, a franchise league based in South Africa that is in its second year of existence.
The Capitals finished their first year in first place, but lost to Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the final.
It will be Wilson’s first time coaching competitively outside Ireland or the UK, but there are some names he is familiar with.
Former Irish head coach Graham Ford is the Capitals’ head coach and has played with the likes of Paul Sterling and Will Jacks, while Wilson has played alongside Adil Rashid, Phil Salt and Wayne Parnell. He is also well acquainted with other players from his time in county cricket such as Colin and Colin. Ingram.
“I’m really looking forward to this exciting opportunity to work within an established franchise system and gain new insight into the ever-evolving T20 format,” said Wilson.
“With the T20 World Cup taking place next June, it is important that we do everything we can as coaches and players to ensure that each team is well prepared for the tactics and approach they will bring to the tournament.
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“So this opportunity is going to be a great experience and I hope I can take what I learned back to the Irish system.
“I would like to thank Cricket Ireland for allowing me to play in the tournament and Pretoria Capitals for giving me the opportunity to support the team.”