Following the resignation of chief executive John Stephenson earlier this month, a management reorganisation led to the appointment of Anthony McGrath as Essex’s new director of cricket.
In addition to continuing in his position as men’s head coach, which he has had since 2018, McGrath, 48, will now be in charge of the club’s professional cricket programmes for men, women, the Academy, and Player Pathway.
He will also collaborate closely with the club’s incoming women’s head coach, when that position becomes available, as Essex has been selected as one of the eight founding Tier 1 clubs in the new women’s tournament starting in 2025.
With the application deadline earlier this week, McGrath was considered a strong contender to take over as director of cricket at his old club, Yorkshire, after serving in that capacity for seven seasons at Essex.
Additionally, since Ottis Gibson’s contract was up at the end of the season, he might have been a candidate to take over as their coach.
Rather, he has made a renewed commitment to the team that he assisted in winning the Bob Willis Cup in the summer of 2020 despite Covid. He also helped the team win the County Championship and Vitality Blast double in 2019.
“I’m honoured to accept this role,” McGrath remarked. “In 2018, the club offered me the opportunity to take on the role of Head Coach for the first time, and the support I’ve received has been essential to our success.
“My network of outstanding coaches is dependable and consistently goes above and beyond to produce top-notch results. We now have the chance to influence the county’s strategic vision for cricket, a game played by boys, girls, and women alike.”
Dan Feist, who was formerly Essex’s operations manager and is currently the club’s general manager, was promoted before him. McGrath will continue to collaborate with the club’s Cricket Committee, which is led by Jason Gallian, a former batter for Essex and England.
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“The club is delighted to appoint Anthony to the newly-created role of Director of Cricket,” said Anu Mohindru, head of Essex. During his time as head coach, we have had consistent success, as seen by the remarkable and unequalled feat of winning both the Championship and the T20 in the same season in 2019.
“This will allow the club to create a clear identity and playing style across all our representative teams, and I look forward to seeing every one of those teams continue to flourish under his expanded leadership.”
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