Former Kent Director of Cricket Paul Farbrace has joined Yorkshire as their Second Eleven coach.
The 44 year old left his position at Canterbury in September after two years in charge of the playing side and will now work with former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie who becomes Yorkshire’s First Team coach.
Farbrace had been linked with a move to run Surrey’s Second Eleven, but admitted that the lure of working at Yorkshire was too good to turn down:
He said: “It’s a great move for me. I know a lot about Yorkshire cricket, a lot about the players and I know there’s a lot of history and tradition associated with the Club, so for me it’s an absolutely fantastic move.”
Farbrace is very clear on Yorkshire’s appeal to him at this stage in his career: “ There are three things that appealed to me about Yorkshire. It’s a big Club – a fantastic Club and if you’re interested in cricket in England then Yorkshire County Cricket Club has always been at the forefront.
“I think the players that Yorkshire have produced ever since I’ve been watching cricket – there’s always been lots of Yorkshire cricketers playing for England – it’s a massive hotbed of cricket in the country. And the other thing that attracted me to the job was the chance to work with Martyn Moxon – I feel that I’ve still got a lot to learn about coaching and someone like Martyn can be fantastic for me.
“I’m excited by the Club in so many ways. It doesn’t matter whether you’re coaching 1st Team or 2nd Team – it’s coaching cricketers and that’s what I enjoy most and I’m really looking forward to getting started now.”
Meanwhile, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, Martyn Moxon, said of Farbrace: “Someone from outside of Yorkshire is always a good thing I think. He’ll give a different perspective on things and Paul has vast experience of coaching at all levels and has coached at Academy, 2nd XI and 1st XI level and with Sri Lanka.
“His wicket-keeping skills are something we haven’t had a lot of in recent times, so Paul brings the whole package and he’s a good guy as well so I’m sure he will be a good addition to the staff and hopefully the players will thrive under him.”
Farbrace is expected to work closely with Yorkshire’s wicketkeepers whilst managing the Second Eleven on a daily basis.