Cricket Australia’s decision to ditch George Bailey and James Faulkner from its contract list will have huge positives for Tasmania according to newly-installed Tigers coach Adam Griffith.
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On his first day in the role, the 39-year-old reflected on his career path from the NTCA to Bellerive via Western Australia, talked up the tools available to him and spoke of the opportunities ahead.
But it was the sudden availability of two members of Australia’s 2015 World Cup-winning squad which had Griffith most excited.
“Obviously it’s not great for them but it’s a silver lining for us to see more of them,” he said.
“It’s fantastic for our programme. You can’t undersell how important those guys are to develop players and also to our programme in trying to get success on the field. I just can’t wait to get to work with those guys and Tim Paine, Alex Doolan and others to really guide the way. If they’re on the park together that will really make my job a lot easier.”
Fifteen years after leaving South Launceston to pursue his cricketing ambitions, the Launceston-born former Glen Dhu primary, Kings Meadows high and Launceston College student reflected on a playing career of 50 first-class matches (169 wickets) followed by six years coaching at the WACA which has led him back to his home state.
“When I was playing for South Launceston I just wanted to play one game for Tasmania but luckily enough I got the opportunity to play a few more than that and it all progressed from there.
“I was travelling backwards and forwards at the time and Greg Shipperd was the coach and he encouraged me to move down full-time and I ended up playing for nine years after that and having some of the best times of my life.”
Griffith, who was teaching at LC and Sacred Heart when he made the move south and shared a house with future Test opener Shane Watson, said South Launceston coach Robbie Jones, Northern regional and later Tigers coach Tim Coyle and South teammate Shaun Young were key mentors early in his career.
Fronting his first press conference since being appointed as Dan Marsh’s replacement, the former right-arm quick spelled out his vision for turning around a state with whom he won Sheffield Shield and one-day competitions.
Griffith, whose parents Richard and Maree still reside in Launceston, said he would analyse the list and pathway structure and seek to recruit assistant coaches with a primary focus on player development.
A member of the historic 2006-07 Shield victory, Griffith said he had received great feedback to his appointment. “I got off the flight yesterday and it took about four hours to go through all the messages and I really appreciate all that support.”