Stephen Fleming named head coach, Eric Simmons assistant for Stellenbosch Monarchs

The latest franchise to unveil its name and logo- Stellenbosch Monarchs have signed up former South African head coach Eric Simmons as the assistant to former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming. Fleming has been appointed as the head coach for the side. Boland Park in Paarl will be their home ground as they will look to lock horns with the other competitive sides.

The New Zealander has worked with IPL side Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiants where they were able to achieve substantial success. Apart from being a reputed batsman during his playing days, the Kiwi has turned out to be an outstanding coach at the domestic level. It will be interesting to see if the combo of Fleming-Simmons manages to do wonder in the Global T20 League.

Faf du Plessis, a marquee player in the Global T20 League, said, “It’s great to have the experience and knowledge of a world great like Stephen Fleming in our set up. I’m really looking forward to playing at Boland Park. Having a local T20 league will attract some big names to this beautiful part of our country and I’m privileged to be representing this team,”’ explained the Proteas Test and T20I captain while talking to SAcricketmag.

Fleming-Simmons partnership

Fleming wants the team to play interesting cricket and be among the title contenders. “We want to play an exciting brand of cricket and challenge for top honours. Together with Eric Simons, we aim to bring out the best in the team from the onset,” he said.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) have also ensured that multiple stadiums get an up-gradation and the facilities provided are of international standards.

“We are proud to be a host city and offer our support to the T20 Global League. This is an amazing opportunity for our whole region to be part of a world-class, international cricket league – something that we haven’t had the chance to do in over 50 years. I know the communities from towns surrounding Paarl, like Wellington, Franschhoek, Worcester, Ceres, Robertson and Stellenbosch will get behind the team,” said Drakenstein Local Municipality Mayor, Conrad Poole.