Former Irish captain Trent Johnston appointed as New South Wales interim coach

Former Irish captain Trent Johnston appointed as New South Wales interim coach: Former Ireland captain Trent Johnston has been appointed as interim head coach of New South Wales team following Trevor Bayliss’ departure to coach the England international team. Johnston, 41, has been an assistant coach at the Blues for the past nine months, and also worked with the youth “Pathways” squad. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to taste what it’s like to be head coach of this great organisation”, he said. “We are currently in pre-season, and it’s my job to prepare the squad for the upcoming season.” It is learnt that Johnston is also a strong contender for becoming the full time head coach of New South Wales. Johnston played five first-class games for the state between 1998 and 2000, before moving to Ireland for whom he qualified to play through marriage.He played 97 international matches for Ireland, captaining them to their first World Cup appearance in 2007, where they claimed famous wins over Pakistan and Bangladesh. At the time of his appointment last summer, NSW cricket manager David Moore said, “Trent has an outstanding cricketing background and as a former Blue who has played cricket around the world with Ireland, he will bring a great deal of experience and knowledge to our coaching set-up.

“He was a hard-working cricketer who made the most of his abilities and he will bring those qualities to Cricket NSW. We are confident that he will be an invaluable addition to our current group of coaches.”