Final appointment puts finishing touches on Taranaki Cricket’s makeover

Former Namibian international cricketer Chris Coombe is Taranaki Cricket’s latest new appointment, taking on the organisation’s Director of Cricket role.

Coombe - a right-handed all-rounder who played 61 matches for Namibia between 2011 and 2018 - began in the role late last month.

The Director of Cricket role is a newly created position which will oversee The Good Home Taranaki Cricket’s cricketing and coaching development programmes from junior through to senior representative levels.

Coombe’s appointment follows hot on the heels of Taranaki Cricket’s appointment of Ryan Evans to the General Manager role.

Evans said Coombe, who arrived from Denmark in 2019 to play for the Stratford Cricket Club, had made his mark playing and coaching around Taranaki since Covid originally left him stranded in the province in 2020.

“It turned out to be a stroke of luck in the end,” Evans said, “because since then he’s become a key figure in our coaching programmes and took on the role as head coach of the Taranaki Women in the 2021/22 season.

“When this opportunity arose, Chris impressed us with his vision for developing coaching structures and systems that will stand us in good stead as the next generation of youngsters comes to the fore.”

Evans said Coombe has shown a hunger for improvement, shown by the fact he is currently working through an international coaching qualification under former South African batting star Gary Kirsten, now the batting coach for the IPL-winning Gujarat Titans.

“Through his playing career, Chris has also developed a number of international connections which could come in handy as borders around the world re-open following the Covid-19 pandemic,” Evans said.

Meanwhile Debu Banik stays on with the organisation as a performance coach, where he will work firsthand with the region’s best, and aspiring, cricketers.

“Debu has been involved with Taranaki Cricket for the past 19 years, so has a huge amount of knowledge to go with his technical coaching skills,” Evans said.

“He has brought through current stars such as Will Young, Kate Ebrahim and Tom Bruce from a young age and we’re looking forward to seeing Taranaki’s reputation for producing quality cricketers continue under Debu’s guidance.”