Ed Barney announced as ECB's new Performance Director

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) came forward to announce Ed Barney as the board’s latest Performance Director. Barney was in the same role for Great Britain’s Hockey and now he will be fulfilling his responsibilities with the ECB. 

The 41-year-old has previously worked with the ECB as a Talent Identification Scientist from 2010 to 2013. He moved to Hockey in 2016, where he oversaw some major success for the country in the field including Olympic Gold for GB women in Tokyo in 2021 and a maiden Commonwealth Games gold for the England women's team in 2022.

After the announcement, Ed Barney opined that the opportunity to work with the ECB once again was something that he could not pass up on. He also stated that he was keen on further building upon the work that has already been done at the ECB. 

"The opportunity to return to the ECB and take on the role of Performance Director was an opportunity I couldn't pass up, I'm looking forward to building on much of the exceptional work that is in place, whilst ensuring that the quality of our provision supports the most talented players to realise their potential, excel on the world stage and inspire the nation about everything that cricket has to offer,” Barney was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. 

It's been a real honour to lead the performance team at England and Great Britain Hockey: Barney

Furthermore, Barney also reflected on his stint in Hockey, and he extended his thanks to everyone at England and Great Britain Hockey who provided him the opportunity to work with the squad and lead them to major success. 

"It's been a real honour to lead the performance team at England and Great Britain Hockey over the past seven years. It has been very special to see many of the junior teams breakthrough, whilst the senior programmes have excelled on the world stage with European, Commonwealth Games and Olympic medals,” Barney said. 

"As Performance Director it has been a real privilege to work with so many exceptional players and colleagues who day-to-day inspire one another to strive to be better. I want to thank everyone at England and Great Britain Hockey and look forward to following their success in the future,” he added.