Canterbury Country Cricket Association will see a change at the helm of the Senior Rep team for the 2021/22 season.

Departing coach, Michael Sharpe, is unable to commit to coach the team for the upcoming season due to a couple of major projects within his role as CEO of the North Canterbury Sport and Recreation Trust. During Sharpe’s 4 year tenure as head coach, he has led the team to two Hawke Cup Challenges, with one of them being a successful challenge against Hamilton in the 2019/20 season. Cricket Manager, Toby Doyle, comments that ‘Sharpy brought a professionalism to the side and during his tenure the team continued to develop into one of the top district teams in New Zealand’.

The Association has appointed Tim Gruijters to the role of Senior player-coach for the 2021/22 season. This will be a first experience for Gruijters coaching at this level, but he is excited about the prospect. Gruijters comments ‘I am fortunate to be stepping into a team that I have been a part of as a player over the past few seasons, so I know the players well and already have formed relationships with them’.  Gruijters adds, ‘One thing I will be big on for guys in our environment is striving to become better people and better players, if everyone is aligned to this belief, then our unit has the possibility to achieve something special this coming season’.

Cricket Manager, Toby Doyle is excited with the appointment. He comments ‘Tim is a high potential coach who has all the right skills and characteristics to progress his coaching career over the next few years. It is great we can offer this opportunity to him at a time where we have a talented group of players in our environment and we also have a great playing programme to look forward to’.

Long time serving manager and selector Chris Rowe has confirmed his availability to continue in his role for 2021/22.

 

New Senior Rep Team Coach, Tim Gruijters, in action against Hamilton in the successful Hawke Cup challenge in 2019/20

Article added: Thursday 22 July 2021