Heinrich Malan has agreed to extend his role as Ireland’s head coach until mid-2027. The decision to keep him in the top spot has been taken with an eye towards the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
The focus during Malan’s extended reign will be to secure Ireland’s qualification in the marquee tournament that is scheduled to take place in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
The 43-year-old took charge of the Ireland Men’s team in March 2022 on a three-year contract. During his tenure, Ireland managed to qualify for the 2022 and 2024 T20 World Cup while missing out on a spot in the 2023 Cricket World Cup after the ICC World Cup qualifiers loss.
Before departing with his team for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA, Malan conveyed his excitement for the coming three years with an overview of developing Ireland across all three formats.
“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.”
“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,” said Malan.
Malan talked about how he will be aiming to cultivate a better game sense in the team and create an environment where his players can play freely with confidence.
“One area I have been keen on developing is our players being able to better read the game situation and then, where they judge it appropriate, to have the freedom and confidence to try and impose their style and natural instincts on the game.
“Some of our younger players are literally learning this ability on the job, which means there are days they will fail, but failure is a key part of the learning process. What we as coaches are looking for is evidence that those unsuccessful experiences are analysed and understood by the player and become part of the experience they can draw upon in future matches.
“This work has borne fruit in two successful T20 World Cup qualifying campaigns and in our recent Test success. But we are all conscious that we’ve missed out on playing in the last two 50-over world cups, and qualification for the 2027 tournament will be one of the focus areas across the next three years,” added Malan.
