Cricket Snell ‘hugely excited’ at landing new Glo’sters job
It’s imperative we respect the tradition and culture of the club but we also develop our ability to innovate, prepare and develop a cricket team that can achieve sustained success on the field
GLOUCESTERSHIRE have begun restructuring their management team by appointing Steve Snell, the county’s former wicketekeeper, as their first performance director.
Snell, who played for Gloucestershire between 2004 and 2010, will take up his position at the start of December and will lead the club’s cricket department.
Until then the 38-year-old will continue to work for Somerset, where he finished his playing career and then became academy director and, most recently, head of talent pathway.
Among his duties at Gloucestershire, Snell will be responsible for delivering success on the field by developing a vision and a strategy that the county hope will put the team in a position to win titles.
He will also oversee talent identification and development of the science and medicine team, as well as the performance management of talent pathways and elite squads.
His appointment comes at a time when the county are also recruiting a new head coach, with Ian Harvey having filled the role on an interim basis this year following the departure of Richard Dawson to work in the England coaching set-up.
Snell will work alongside the new head coach with hopes of delivering the county’s stated ambition of winning a white-ball trophy by 2023 and the County Championship by 2025.
Speaking of his joy at returning to work at Gloucestershire, Snell said: “I am hugely excited about this opportunity and I am delighted to be joining a club with ambitious plans and an extremely talented playing squad and staff.
“We have an experienced core group of players which will be looking to build on the 2021 season. Will Brown and the board have made some exciting additions to the squad that I’m confident will help to push the club further forward, and that the supporters will continue to enjoy watching and cheering on.
“Gloucestershire is a club that’s rich in tradition but is also an organisation that has exciting points of difference. It’s imperative we respect the tradition and culture of the club but we also develop our ability to innovate, prepare and develop a cricket team that can achieve sustained success on the field.”
Snell made 82 appearances for
Gloucestershire across all formats and racked up 2,183 runs with the bat.
Will Brown, Gloucestershire chief executive, said: “We’re thrilled to have Steve on board, who, with his knowledge and experience of cricket, can help take the club to the next level both on and off the field.
“In particular, the work Steve has done at Somerset in developing outstanding young playing talent shone through. We have always prided ourselves at Gloucestershire on our homegrown talent and Steve will be able to strengthen this
area for our ambitious young cricketers.
“The calibre of candidates for the role was incredibly strong. Steve impressed us all with his mentality and ideas for the future, and it’s a fantastic bonus for us to have someone with Gloucestershire DNA in such a vital position within the club.
“Huge thanks should go to club chair, David Jones, ECB performance director, Mo Bobat and former club captain Michael Klinger for their support and counsel during this process.
“Executive Board members
David Graveney and Matt Windows have been part of the process from start to finish and deserve special thanks for their invaluable contribution.
“We want to win trophies and I’m confident Steve, working alongside our talented playing and coaching squad, will help us to achieve sustainable success.
“This is an incredibly exciting time to be a part of Gloucestershire Cricket, we’re a club on the up and we’re looking forward to the challenge of playing in Division One of the County Championship next season.”