Glamorgan will benefit from the knowledge of one of English cricket’s finest white-ball minds with Mark Alleyne returning to elite head coaching after a gap of 15 years.
This is the same Alleyne who won six major white-ball trophies as a player and captain at Gloucestershire during his career before steering the team to a seventh as coach in 2004.
Since 2008, the 54-year-old has worked mainly with young players first as the head coach of MCC young cricketers and then at Marlborough College. But after dipping his toes back in the water with consultant roles with Gloucestershire and England, he is now in charge of the white ball teams in Cardiff and is raring to go.
“I’ve never taken cricket for granted,” said Alleyne who played 10 ODIs for England. “But after being away from the cut and thrust of the elite game, coming back into it I feel reinvigorated.
“I’m feeling as fresh as I’ve ever felt and I’ve got a lot to offer so I’m looking forward to working with the players and hopefully trying to bring some success to the club. It is hard for players to switch between formats but Glamorgan are looking to compete on all fronts and by splitting the coaching roles they have given us the responsibility to make sure that happens.
“The game has evolved over the years, but the basics remain the same, it is about adapting and finding ways of getting the best out of those players and improving their skills.” Alleyne did not expect to go 15 years between head coach jobs at the sharp end of the game, but like many other black coaches he found it hard to get interviewed for jobs.
He is now the second black head coach working at a county in the domestic game, with Ottis Gibson at Yorkshire, and having spoken out about the subject before, he admits he does feel an extra element of responsibility on his shoulders to do a good job. “I do feel a responsibility here, very much so,” he added.
“It is something that I didn't necessarily think about over the years. But I do feel I'm probably in a better position than most in terms of getting into the county system and making a difference.
“So without doubt, I feel very responsible and that this isn't just for me. I want to show that black coaches can be really relevant within the county game.”
