Published: Apr 23, 2014, 05:41 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 23, 2014, 05:41 PM (IST)
Apr 23, 2014
Former Sri Lankan coach Graham Ford has come out in support of his successor, Paul Farbrace, after the latter decided to resign as Sri Lanka coach. Ford says that Farbrace will add great value to an England side that went through a “bad winter.”
According to a report by the Press Association, the South African-born Ford said, “I think his [Farbrace] coaching CV is a very good one, but he’s a bloke who will show a lot of energy and a lot of care for the players. At that level they are looking for a lot of support, and he’s the man to give them that support.”
Ford was generous in his praise for Farbrace. “There’s no doubt that he’s a 100 per cent man, very energetic, a good coach and he will really add a lot to the whole set-up. He’s a very knowledgeable coach; he’s coached at various levels, the England women’s team and England Under-19s,” he said.
Ford went on to say that the combination of Peter Moores and Farbrace can only be positive. “I think they’ve both got a lot of coaching experience, good blokes both of whom are very highly respected amongst all the players I’ve talked to,” Ford said of England’s new coaching line-up.
Ford mentioned that the current bad days of English cricket was only a phase. He said, “I guess it’s been a bad winter for English cricket, but I think it’s been more of a little wobble. There are lots of very good players around and perhaps a little change at the top will straighten things out quickly and I’m sure they’ll be in for a good summer… So one would think that it won’t take long before England are really firing again.”
He concluded by saying, “The ECB are very professional about what they do, they have a lot of professional systems in place to ensure the players are able to perform, and you would think they will get back on track pretty quickly and hopefully that will lead to some continued success.”
