Grant Flower joins Sussex as batting coach

Sussex CCC have signed former Zimbabwe cricketer and much-travelled coach Grant Flower to be their batting coach. He replaces Jason Swift, who has stepped down to pursue other opportunities.

"It gives me great pleasure to be added to the Sussex coaching staff and I can't wait to start," Flower, an integral part of the Zimbabwe side from 1992 to 2010, said in a statement released by the club. "I have been told about the exciting young batters coming through the ranks and am excited to be given the opportunity of hopefully improving them along their journey.

"I always enjoyed playing against the Sharks and admired their professional approach and ultra-competitiveness. Hopefully I can add to that with some of my international coaching experiences and help contribute to make the Sharks batting unit both reliable and exciting."

Flower's last assignment was as batting coach of the Sri Lanka side, which ended in 2021 after a two-year stint. Prior to that, he had worked in a similar capacity with Pakistan and, before that, with Zimbabwe. He has also had coaching gigs with Essex and Midwest Rhinos in Zimbabwe.

During his playing career, which included 67 Tests (3457 runs at an average of 29.54) and 221 ODIs (6571 runs at 33.52), Flower spent six seasons with Essex, from 2005 to 2010, winning three one-day trophies with them.

"Grant is an absolutely fantastic addition to our staff," Sussex's championship and one-day head coach Ian Salisbury said. "I've known him since my first trip to Zimbabwe in 1989 and can vouch for his personal qualities, while his coaching and playing record speak for themselves.

"With a young squad in the early stage of their careers, the quality of the coaching set-up is absolutely vital. To add someone with Grant's track record alongside people like James Kirtley, Sarah Taylor, Ash Wright and Mike Yardy puts us in a really strong position. I feel humbled to be working alongside this group.

"There have been some challenges over the past year or so, but we've got to look forward now. We've got a brilliant coaching team in place, the medical and S&C teams are doing great work with the lads' fitness, we've got the marquee going up early in the New Year, so we're in a great position to now focus on the squad's cricketing skills as we build up to the start of the season."