Gary Wilson appointed Warriors Head Coach and Pathway Manager
The North West Cricket Union is delighted to announce that Gary Wilson is to take up the role of Warriors Head Coach and Performance Pathway Manager with immediate effect.
The wicket-keeper/batsman has also enjoyed a fantastic career in County cricket that saw him play, captain and coach at both Surrey and Derbyshire. He returned to Northern Ireland in 2018 and has been part of the Northern Knights set-up ever since, but will now be concentrating exclusively on his role in the North West.
And while he will now prepare for the start of the Interprovincial season which gets under way in early May, the new man will also be charged with looking after the Pathway process for both boys and girls. In announcing his retirement from playing earlier today, Gary said he was looking forward to the challenges ahead.
“I think it’s a great time to be taking on the North West Head Coach role, and hopefully I can bring that international and county cricket experience to the role.
I think that the performance pathway side of the role is exciting as well – it’s about bringing on the next generation and making sure they are ready for North West cricket.
At the end of the day we want to see more North West players playing for Ireland and in the Inter-Pro competition. I think if we get it right at the pathway and emerging levels, then hopefully we’ll see just that.”
It is a fantastic coup for the North West although General Manager Peter McCartney was also very keen to pay tribute to Ian McGregor for his role in leading the Warriors for the past five years.
“Firstly, I want to thank Ian for all his hard work and dedication over the past number of years, both as Assistant Coach and Head Coach. It’s important to recognise the work Ian has done with the Warriors and his vital role in developing North West players. He came in at a time when we were just starting off on First-Class cricket and lead us with great success to the 2018 Interprovincial Championship.
With the creation of the new Regional Performance Hub we are now in a position to appoint a full-time Head Coach and Pathway manager, and I’m delighted with the appointment of Gary. He has enjoyed a very successful playing career at county level and with Ireland. In recent years he has also been appointed in coaching roles with Surrey and Derbyshire, and brings with him considerable experience of a high-performance environment. I’ve no doubt that he will be a huge success not only for the Warriors but also our emerging players and pathway.”
North West Chairman Brian Dougherty echoed those sentiments and said he was particularly pleased that there was now a clear focus on the Union’s development programme.
“I too would like to welcome Gary to the fold. This is another exciting announcement on the back of the restructuring of our pathways and inter-provincial programme. Gary will lead in our holistic approach to help to ensure that all our current and future young and adult players improve as cricketers and can potentially see a clear route from their club to International level.
I would also like on behalf of myself and our Board to thank Ian for his hard work, expertise and skill in getting the Warriors to this stage, often committing many more hours than we had resources for. We would hope that he is not lost to Irish cricket.”
