Arachas Super Series 2022: Cricket Ireland appoint Paul Davidge as Typhoons head coach

DUBLIN – Cricket Ireland named Paul Davidge as the new head coach of Arachas Super Series side the Typhoons for the 2022 season. The 40-year-old Englishman, who hails from Essex, replaces former Ireland international Clare Shillington who stepped down from the role at the conclusion of the 2021 season.

A former wicket-keeper, Davidge has been coaching for almost 20 years, and will combine his new role with his current positions as Essex County Cricket Club’s Women’s Elite Eagles Programme Head Coach (U18 – 1st XI) and academy coach at Central Sparks.  He also coaches the counties for emerging players Academy wicket keepers.  He has also previously worked with Suffolk CCC Men’s 1st team squad during the 2019 season.

Davidge had a playing career that spanned over 12 years, including spells in English county cricket with numerous counties, including Berkshire and Wiltshire, as well as spending time playing A Grade cricket in Australia. He also represented English Universities and the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), captaining the latter in a three-day match in 2011.

He will link up with the Typhoons squad ahead of this weekend’s opening match of the Arachas Super Series against the Scorchers at Merrion Cricket Club.

Now in its eighth year, the Arachas Super Series is a best v best competition that features Irish senior internationals and the best emerging talent across Ireland.

Arachas – Ireland’s largest, fastest-growing, nationwide insurance brokerage – have returned again as the competition’s title sponsor.

Speaking from home after his appointment, Davidge said:

 “I am delighted to be named head coach of the Typhoons. I have followed the rise of the Ireland women’s cricket team over the past 18 months and along with the new funding commitment from Cricket Ireland, I can only see that the programme will continue to grow. I feel that I can offer support, experience and learning opportunities for the players in the Typhoons squad and try to give the players the best opportunity to play successfully for the National side.

“I’ve also spent a lot of time in Ireland over the past three years with my fiancée’s family, as we are getting married in County Meath at the end of August.”

He says that his route into women’s coaching wasn’t something he originally planned:

“When I left my role as Head of Cricket at New Hall School, an opportunity to assist the Essex Women’s team came up which I took. The work ethic, hunger for success and receptiveness of all of the women I have worked with has given me a new drive and motivation as a coach. Despite the challenges that women’s cricket has faced over the years, I was always struck by how incredible their motivation and drive to push for success was. I hope I can help add to the increasing structures and professionalism of the women’s game and make the players feel valued and appreciated.

“Being able to facilitate and support player development is extremely rewarding. The challenge for me is to always create new ways of engaging players in both training sessions and on match days. As a coach, working with so many different personalities requires you to maintain a complete focus on the players you’re working with. The enjoyment of watching players work hard and then reap the rewards of consistent performance is, for me, the main attraction of the job. I enjoy the conversations with players that create new thoughts and learnings that both them and I can take forward.”

Has Davidge developed a coaching philosophy?

“After four seasons as an overseas player in Australia my own philosophy to playing – and then coaching – changed hugely. I remember a coach of mine in Victoria said to me, when I was over complicating technique, “just see the ball and hit the ball”. Keeping everything simple is how I now go about my own coaching. Every player needs to be coached differently, but ultimately the outcome should always be the driving factor. It is my job as a coach to facilitate and find ways to help the individual process become comfortable and consistent.

“In the UK we have a lot of great ‘trainers’ who – when it comes to the pressures of a game – struggle to perform. However, I find that when you create a substantial focus on skills development in training, players tend to transfer those learnings to games much easier. Overall, though, I generally have two themes that I use when working with any team: ‘Finding a way’ and ‘being effective’. Within these themes, it is the player’s challenge to discover ‘how can I do this’, while it is my challenge to work out ‘how can I support this’.”

 THE ARACHAS SUPER SERIES SQUADS

Dragons

Leah Paul (captain) (Merrion), Amy Caulfield (Muckamore), Alison Cowan (CSNI), Zara Craig (Eglinton), Alana Dalzell (Bready), Mollie Devine (Fox Lodge), Sarah Forbes (YMCA), Abbi Harrison (Waringstown), Amy Hunter (Malahide/Instonians), Charlotte Lyons (Waringstown), Kia McCartney (Coleraine), Kate McEvoy (YMCA), Cara Murray (Waringstown/Clontarf), Orla Prendergast (Pembroke), Jemma Rankin (Bready).
Head coach: James Cameron-Dow

Scorchers

Gaby Lewis (captain) (YMCA), Christina Coulter Reilly (Clontarf), Rachel Delaney (Merrion), Shauna Kavanagh (Pembroke), Anna Kerrison (Malahide), Hannah Little (Pembroke), Sophie MacMahon (Leinster), Niamh MacNulty (Merrion), Aimee Maguire (The Hills), Jane Maguire (The Hills), Lara Maritz (Balbriggan), Ellie McGee (Rush), Eimear Richardson (Leinster), Jenny Sparrow (Leinster), Siúin Woods (YMCA).
Head coach: Glenn Querl

 Typhoons

Laura Delany (captain) (Leinster), Ava Canning (Leinster), Sarah Condron (Malahide), Georgina Dempsey (Phoenix), Rebecca Gough (Rush), Maria Kerrison (Leinster), Robyn Lewis (YMCA), Louise Little (Pembroke), Joanna Loughran (Leinster), Tess Maritz (Balbriggan), Lara McBride (North County), Celeste Raack (Merrion), Freya Sargent (Clontarf), Rebecca Stokell (Merrion), Mary Waldron (Pembroke).
Head coach: Paul Davidge

THE FIXTURE SCHEDULE

* Start time is dependent on additional 30 mins being used in morning match.