Former Australia off-break bowler Nathan Haurtitz was appointed as Ireland spin bowling coach, Cricket Ireland said in a statement. The 40-year-old’s role will be there to work with both the men’s and women’s team.Hauritz will join the Irish set-up in August, subject to a work permit. "The opportunity was too good to not even think about," Haurtiz said of his appointment. "I love discussing spin bowling from all facets, and to be able to do that in an international environment while travelling the world, how could you not want to do it."My particular interest as a coach is the tactical and mental side of spin bowling. When you play at the top level of cricket your game is generally in a pretty sound space, but more often than not it comes down to how you perform on the day that needs the most work. I believe my career and experience will help me communicate with, and support the development of, our current groups of spinners. It's an incredibly exciting time to be part of cricket in Ireland," he added.
Offspsinner Hauritz, 40, represented Australia between 2002 to 2011, featuring in 17 Tests, 58 ODIs and 3 T20Is during his international career, taking 128 wickets across all formats. At the domestic level, Hauritz played for Queensland and New South Wales in first-class cricket, and featured for Brisbane Heat, Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.Haurtiz moved into coaching after his retirement and has been the spin bowling coach at Queensland Fire and Brisbane Heat since 2020."We're delighted that Nathan will be joining the high performance staff and look forward to getting him over here to start working with our spin groups," said Richard Holdsworth, High Performance Director at Cricket Ireland."Not only will Nathan's skills and experience be invaluable to our spinners in both the men's and women's squads, but he will also be looking at the next generation coming through the pathway system," he added.
