Enter Heinrich Malan. The new Ireland cricket head coach has made a name for himself in both the New Zealand domestic circuit and as a national assistant coach, but he is a relative unknown in global circles. Still, he will arrive on these shores in March with some impressive endorsements.
Ajaz Patel, the New Zealand spinner who recently became just the third man to take 10 wickets in a Test innings, worked with Malan until 2019 at the Central District Stags, a Kiwi domestic outfit where the South African oversaw numerous trophy-winning campaigns.
One of the most widely accepted challenges of an elite coach is to be able to tailor their approach to individuals depending on their own needs in order to get the best out of them.
According to Patel, Malan has no issues with this skill. “He works hard and he invests time in individuals. That shows because every individual [at the Stags] has improved considerably since he’s been around and on different levels as well.
“The way that he individualises what he wants to see us achieve is probably what was an asset to us because we’re all different players, we all go about things differently, we all think about our game differently and he understands that and accepts that.”
For examples of this individualised approach, see the case of Blair Tickner.
In 2015 when the Kiwi bowler was starting out in the Stags squad, Malan spotted an opportunity. He encouraged Tickner to undergo a technical change, shifting his action from a round-arm one into a more classic, high-arm fast bowling method.
The change worked, as Tickner, who debuted for New Zealand four years later in 2019, readily admits.
“I was quite raw at the time. Heinrich looked at me, broke me down, changed my action a lot over the next year or two and I got better for it. He helped me out with technical stuff at the start and it [progressed then to] mostly match stuff.”
Malan arrives then both with an impressive CV and references. What of the group over which he is taking control?
It hasn’t been the easiest period for the men’s senior side, and it remains to be seen what position they will be in come March when Malan takes over. The scope of his task depends largely on if Ireland have qualified for the next T20 World Cup by the time he gets here. Qualifiers take place in February under the stewardship of interim coach David Ripley.
What appears more concrete is that Malan’s first assignment, a tour to Zimbabwe taking place in April/May, will include a very welcome Test match, Ireland’s first since 2019.
Off the pitch, the question remains to what extent will Ireland’s systemic problems restrict Malan’s goals? Time once again to beat the drum for better training facilities, higher quality pitches for interpros and more Wolves (Ireland A) fixtures. All of this is with a view to fixing the problem captain Andrew Balbirnie spoke about before the recent US tour; there are at present only around 19 male Irish players good enough to play international cricket.
That is not to say the talent currently in the senior set-up is not good enough. Paul Stirling is the best white-ball batter Ireland have produced not named Eoin Morgan, while Josh Little is likely to lay claim to that title on the bowling front in the coming years. Elsewhere, the average age of the squad is low and at a prime stage for the type of improvements Malan has brought about in other players.
But similar things were said about Graham Ford, Malan’s predecessor. Plenty of the current squad say he was the best coach they ever worked with. Upon his resignation in November, Ford said the unique challenges of coaching Ireland took their toll.
Malan suggested an awareness of the off-field improvements required in his comments when his appointment was announced
“The wheel in Irish cricket is turning nicely for the stage it is at, but this point in time is a great opportunity to review what – and how – we are operating to not only grow the wheel, but make that wheel turn quicker.”
The use of the word “review” is pertinent, given many lamented how Malan was appointed before the ongoing independent review into facilities and October’s World Cup exit was released.
The Irish Times has learned that the final report was submitted during the Christmas week, but that the recruitment process had already commenced according to criteria that was set out in collaboration with the review’s conductors. This was due to time constraints caused by the volume of cricket coming up, notice periods and work-permit requirements.
Ajaz Patel made one other observation about Malan that is relevant here.
“We [the players] probably take things a little bit too far and that shows with the amount of coffee he drinks and the times he walks away and just hides in the dressingroom because he can’t bear to watch what happens next.”
Sporting nerves are relatable to many. Irish cricket hopes that it is only the unpredictability of match action that brings them out rather than the off-field constraints that have hampered coaches in the past.
