CANES SHOCK
Coach Kirsten quits, Griffith takes the reins
TIGERS coach Adam Griffith admits it is “bittersweet” taking the reins of Tasmania’s biggest franchise following the shock resignation of Hurricanes coach Gary Kirsten.
South African Kirsten stepped down from the position for undisclosed personal reasons just one year into a two-year deal and six months after piloting the side into the BBL final against Adelaide Scorchers.
The Hurricanes have a ready-made replacement in Griffith — who led the Tigers to the Sheffield Shield final in his first season at the helm — and while the man himself is excited at the opportunity, the circumstances in which it arose were not ideal.
“Gary and I had a close rela- tionship by the end of the BBL last year, which is quite unique, the fact that we did that so quickly,” Griffith said. “You are only here for a short period of time if you are an international coach coming in and out.
“It is a bit bittersweet for me, Gary was still keeping in contact through the back end of the shield season and was following closely what we were doing in that space. But I’m really excited to have the opportunity and privilege to coach the Hurricanes.”
Griffith, who served a Big Bash apprenticeship under Australian coach Justin Langer at the Perth Scorchers, said the key messages to the Hurricanes’ playing list would not change. And he believes the added bonus will be the continuity across all of Cricket Tasmania’s programs with the one head coach. “It is going to be really exciting to deliver the same message in the same direction for 12 months of the year. Developing players doesn’t just happen in eight weeks, it happens over the whole course of 12 months.
“We have 14 players across both lists at the moment that we can continue their development on and off the field.
“Everyone has a different style in how they approach coaching, Gary and I were a little bit different in the way we did things but we also had some similarities.
“The continuity is going to be really important for me personally, and the messaging will be pretty similar.”
CT chief executive Nick Cummins said while the vision was to always move to a onecoach model in both camps, Kirsten’s resignation fasttracked those plans.
“It had always been our long-term plan for ‘Griff’ to step up into that role,” Cummins said.
“That plan has come forward maybe a couple of years earlier than we had initially expected, but Griff in his role with the Tigers and the Hurricanes and previously with the Scorchers has shown he is more than capable of doing the job.”