Familiar face heading back to county

GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S former captain and head coach Mark Alleyne is returning to the club as part of Ian Harvey’s coaching team.

Alleyne, 52, captained Gloucestershire to nine trophies and a County Championship promotion in seven years, starting with a Benson & Hedges Super Cup win in 1999, and won 10 one-day international caps for England.

He was the club’s player-coach and head coach from 2004 to 2007 and now Assistant Director of Sport at Marlborough College.

Alleyne, the club’s highest runscorer and wicket-taker in List-A cricket, said: “Really happy to get involved and help Harvs and the club for the 2021 season. It’s an exciting time for sport generally and cricket, in particular, with a full season in prospect for the players, and it’s a great time for the club, who’re operating on the back of a couple of good years and looking to push on further.

“I have a long working association with Ian Harvey and I love everything about his approach to the game. I’m thrilled to get the call from him and be asked to help support him in his new role, and I’m looking forward to working with the coaching team at the club in the months ahead.”

Harvey said: “We obviously worked well together on the field and I know we both have our own ideas about what he can offer the team so I’m hopeful we can have a fruitful coaching relationship too.

“Mark will work quite a bit with the first team and his knowledge and all those years of captaining a successful team will be hugely beneficial for our team, especially Chris Dent. He’ll also spend time with the second XI.”

Alleyne will be a part of the coaching setup for the 2021 season and will also fulfil his duties at Marlborough College.