Stuart Barnes to step down as Ireland's assistant coach, Eagleson to assume interim duties
Aug 26, 2021
Dublin [Ireland], August 26 : Cricket Ireland has confirmed that assistant coach and national bowling lead Stuart Barnes will step down from his role after the upcoming Zimbabwe series for personal reasons.
Former Irish international Ryan Eagleson will be appointed to the interim national bowling coach position for the upcoming T20 World Cup in October.
Barnes was first involved in a bowling coach capacity with Ireland in August 2020 during the England versus Ireland ODI series and was subsequently appointed in November 2020 on an initial three-year contract.
He had relocated from England to Ireland in time to join the men's squad for Ireland versus Afghanistan series in Abu Dhabi in January.
"Our sincere thanks to Stuart for his dedication and contribution to Irish cricket, and we will be sorry to see him step down after the Zimbabwe series. We fully understand that the pandemic and personal circumstances have made it extremely difficult for his family, and wish Stuart and his family well for the future," said Graham Ford, Ireland men's head coach in a statement.
Ryan Eagleson, 46, played 65 times for Ireland between 1995-2004 claiming 70 wickets at 33.66. He has been part of national and provincial performance pathway coaching set-ups since 2006, including stints as Ireland Wolves assistant coach, men's Under-19s head coach and Cricket Ireland Academy performance coach.
Richard Holdsworth, High-Performance Director for Cricket Ireland, said about Ryan Eagleson's appointment: "We have appointed Ryan Eagleson as bowling coach for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, and he will join the squad as soon as his commitments at the Under-19s World Cup Qualifier have been completed. Ryan needs no introduction to Irish cricket fans and his credentials stand for themselves."
"This interim appointment will now allow us to review our options around the senior coaching group, and we shall seek to appoint a full-time successor to Stuart after the T20 World Cup," he added.
