Cricket Scotland have named New Zealander Mark Coles as Head Coach of the Scotland Women’s Cricket Team.
Coles, who has over 20 years’ experience as a professional cricket coach, will become the first full-time Head Coach of the women’s national team, in a step which demonstrates Cricket Scotland’s determination to drive the women’s game in Scotland forward at both international and domestic level.
During a two-year tenure as Head Coach of the Pakistan women’s team Coles oversaw a period of substantial improvement for the side, with Pakistan moving up to fifth in the ICC Women’s Championship table, on the brink of qualifying for the 2021 Women’s Cricket World Cup. A further period as High-Performance Manager Cricket Japan was brought to a premature end by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of his appointment Coles said: “I am very humbled to be given the opportunity to work with such a talented group and I am extremely excited about what we can achieve. Scotland is a wonderful sporting nation with a rich sporting history. I have no doubt that when we play, we will be playing with the pride, passion, and bravery that the Scottish people are known for around the world.”
Cricket Scotland CEO, Gus Mackay said: “Mark’s appointment as full-time coach of our women’s national team represents a big step forward for women’s cricket in this country. We conducted a robust recruitment process for this role, considering candidates with a wide range of cricket backgrounds from around the world. Mark’s experience and achievements with Pakistan made him a standout candidate for the role.
“I would like to extend my thanks to Mark’s predecessor Steve Knox for the excellent work that he did as Head Coach in a part-time capacity over the last five years.”
The focus for Scotland this year will be the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup European qualifiers and qualification for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
