Ireland have extended head coach Heinrich Malan’s contract until 2027, Cricket Ireland announced on May 27 (Monday). The 43-year-old was appointed in March 2022 on a three-year contract, and with his extension in place, his contract will run out till the middle of 2027. At that point Ireland would know if they have qualified for the 2027 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Under Malan, Ireland had a decent outing in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, where they beat eventual champions England in the group stages. More recently, Ireland also registered their first-ever Test victory when they beat Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi in March.
While Ireland has made it to the T20 World Cup 2024, they failed to qualify for the ODI World Cup in India last year, which led to Andrew Balbirnie’s resignation as captain.
“I am delighted with the extension as it provides the squad and coaching staff a great deal more certainty as we build upon the foundations we have put in place over the last two years,” Malan said.
“We are now a three-format squad and – despite our smaller talent pool to draw from compared to other Full Members – we have been gradually building a sustainable structure that ensures we can continue to compete and improve on all three fronts.”
Richard Holdsworth, High-Performance Director of Cricket Ireland, said, “Quite honestly, it was a very straightforward decision to extend Heinrich’s contract. Heinrich’s communication has been excellent with players and support personnel, ensuring greater clarity in roles, responsibilities and key planning processes.”
Ireland kick-start their T20 World Cup campaign against India on June 5 in New York.
(Cover image courtesy: Sportsfile)
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