CANE-DO COACH

HURRICANES coach Gary Kirsten concedes the club is disadvantaged by his late arrival but has declared it will cause no disruptions in preparing for the BBL|07 opener.

The South African great arrived in Tasmania on Wednesday in readiness for his first campaign in charge of Hobart, which opens its Big Bash tournament against the Melbourne Renegades on December 21 at Blundstone Arena.

Kirsten spent 10 days with the Tigers’ One Day Cup team during their time in Perth in October to meet and familiarise himself with players and coaches.

He labelled this an invaluable in fast tracking the process of building connections.

Kirsten said he was completely confident there was enough time before the opening match to get a further lie of the land as the Hurricanes look to put two seasons of mediocrity behind them.

“It’s never easy when you are coming in as a foreign coach, although it’s definitely the lay of the land these days in world cricket,” Kirsten said.

“The adjustments are pretty quick, we know a lot of the players anyway. It’s something you just need to adapt to and be flexible around and make it work as best you can.

He said his time with the Tigers squad in Perth was important, providing the opportunity to build relationships.

“It was a great week I had there, I got to spend a lot of time with Adam Griffith and we had the opportunity to share our best thinking about moving the entire group forward, across the Tigers and Hurricanes.

“I spent a bit of time with George Bailey as well, which was really helpful.”

The Hurricanes have been dealt several blows in the build-up to the Big Bash, losing vice-captain Tim Paine and English import Tom Curran to Ashes duties, while David Moody and James Bazley have been ruled out with injury.

Beau Webster was traded to the Renegades last week in return for Tasmanian Matthew Wade, while Nathan Reardon was yesterday an 11th hour addition, with Moody’s replacement yet to be finalised.

“When we recruited Tom Curran we knew he was close to an England call up, we didn’t realise how close,” Kirsten said. “It was a bit of a loss but it is always great when players go on to higher honours.

“I am very excited by the team, it is a well balanced team, we have options on the batting side and bowling side.”