Adam Griffith named national fast bowling coach for Cricket Australia

Cricket Australia (CA) has recently made an important decision by appointing Adam Griffith as the new national pace bowling coach. With his extensive coaching experience and background as a former Tasmania fast bowler, Griffith is well-equipped to take on this role and contribute to the development of Australia's future generation of fast bowlers. This appointment highlights CA's commitment to nurturing and grooming talented young bowlers and ensuring a strong supply of skillful pace bowlers in the country. The creation of this position demonstrates CA's recognition of the crucial role played by fast bowlers in the success of Australian cricket and the need for specialized coaching to enhance their abilities. Adam Griffith's expertise in the field, combined with his experience as a player, positions him well to understand the challenges faced by fast bowlers and guide them towards success. His coaching methods will undoubtedly focus on refining the technical aspects of bowling, improving the players' physical fitness, and honing their mental strength. By investing in the development of emerging fast bowlers, CA aims to maintain Australia's prowess in producing world-class players in this crucial discipline of the game. Adam Griffith's appointment as the national pace bowling coach signifies a step forward in CA's commitment to excellence and ensuring a bright future for Australian cricket.

The role was first advertised back in October as an Australia-based position to oversee the management of fast bowlers across international and domestic programmes, in a bid to prevent the spate of injuries that have been occurring and ensure a more co-ordinated approach to the handling of Australia's quicks.

Griffith, 46, brings a staggering amount of experience to the role, sitting underneath Australia men's coach Andrew McDonald and current bowling coach Daniel Vettori who will continue to travel with the men's team. He will also report to CA's head of national teams Ben Oliver, having worked previously with him in Western Australia [WA].

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Griffith is currently Victoria's bowling coach but has been head coach of Tasmania and Hobart Hurricanes. Prior to taking on the head coaching role in Tasmania, he was WA and Perth Scorchers senior assistant coach under Justin Langer. He has also been a long-time bowling coach at Royal Challengers Bangalore [RCB] in the IPL and has worked with San Francisco Unicorns in the MLC. He has done short stints with the Australia men's team on bilateral tours in 2012 and 2016 and the 2019 ODI World Cup.

Griffith's appointment comes at a time when Australia's fast bowling depth is coming into sharp focus with Australia's big three in Pat Cummins, 31, Mitchell Starc, soon to be 35, and Josh Hazlewood, 34, unlikely to continue to play all three formats consistently in the short to medium term.

Griffith will be based in Brisbane at CA's Centre of Excellence and implement a national strategy to develop fast bowlers. He will also oversee the preparation of national fast bowlers, as well as step in as coaching support for Australia A teams and Australia when Vettori is absent due to franchise commitments. He will also be the point-person for developing fast bowling coaches and coordinating with state bowling programs.

Adam Griffith and Jeff Vaughan celebrate a win for the Hobart Hurricanes

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Getty Images

Griffith's experience and knowledge of three state programs and his work with a number of Australia's bowlers across various levels will be important as there has been some friction between CA's high performance unit and the states over the management of some CA contracted bowlers as well as domestically contracted bowlers on the fringe of national selection. There has also been a spate of injuries across the last seven months that has severely tested Australia's depth across four different international series over three formats.

Jhye Richardson and Cameron Green are both recovering from significant surgeries and Griffith has worked with both of them in their junior days in WA. Griffith was a key figure in the rise of Riley Meredith and Nathan Ellis to becoming Australia white-ball representatives. He was also the coach who convinced new Test allrounder Beau Webster to bowl medium pace for Tasmania and oversaw his transition from offspin. More recently he has worked closely with young Victorian quick Sam Elliott, who is enjoying a breakout year in domestic cricket, and has overseen Will Sutherland's recovery from stress fractures in his back.

His work in the IPL at RCB, where he worked with Green, Josh Hazlewood and Mohammed Siraj at various stages, is also significant as CA try to navigate the management of their bowlers in the rapidly evolving franchise era as players look to take IPL and T20 opportunities during periods when CA would prefer them to rest or undergo specifically tailored preparation for upcoming international series.

McDonald was thrilled to secure a coach of Griffith's calibre for the role. "I'm delighted Adam will bring his extensive experience to Cricket Australia as National Pace Bowling Coach and become an important part of our coaching set up," he said. "Adam's expertise across all formats will be invaluable in the preparation of pace bowlers for Australia's national men's teams."

Griffith will complete the domestic season with Victoria in his current role as bowling coach under Chris Rogers, with the team currently sitting second in both the Sheffield Shield and the Dean Jones Trophy, before moving to Brisbane to take up his new post.