Michael Yardy appointed as Sussex's new Batting Coach

Michael Yardy has been appointed Sussex County Cricket Club's new Batting Coach.
Michael YardyMichael Yardy
Michael Yardy

Former Sussex captain Yardy, who retired from professional cricket at the end of the 2015 season after spending two decades as a player with the club, has now been installed as batting coach for the whole player pathway, right through from the junior squads to the professional team.

Yardy was appointed to the role of Under-17’s Head Coach ahead of the 2016 campaign. After impressing last season, he went on to spend time coaching members of Sussex’s Academy programme and the professional squad at the beginning of the winter schedules, and following this progression, Sussex have now promoted him to the role of full-time batting coach.

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Yardy is currently completing his final year of a Sports Psychology degree at Chichester University, and has previously developed his coaching skills at Hurstpierpoint College, looking after their first XI and talented young players.

He played 187 first-class matches during his playing career with Sussex, scoring over 10,000 runs in the process, and he made over 3,000 runs and took more than 100 wickets in his 170 List A games for the County. He also played 102 T20 matches, scoring over 1,000 runs and taking 77 wickets.

His England career saw him play 28 One-Day Internationals and 14 T20 Internationals, and was a key figure in the famous World T20 triumph in 2010.

Yardy said of his new role, “Having spent the whole of my playing career at Sussex, it was always going to be exciting to come back and help this talented team push forward.

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“The time away has allowed me to focus on other areas, which I believe will allow me to offer something different to what is already a strong coaching staff.”

Sussex’s Director of Cricket Keith Greenfield said, “Since Michael returned to the club at the start of last summer with our Under 17s, it has been clear the impact he has had on our young batsmen throughout our player development pathway.

“At the start of the winter, he worked with our batsmen on the Professional staff on a part-time basis, and again it has been clear that his skills are making a significant difference to our players.

“To have him now with us full-time in our environment will be fantastic for all of us, and the Psychology degree that Michael has studied in his time away from the club is also hugely important when dealing with elite players who need to deliver high quality skill and decision making under extreme pressure.”

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