Australia’s Campbell to coach Durham

LONDON: Former Australia international Ryan Campbell has been appointed as the new coach of Durham on a three-year contract, the English county cricket club announced Friday.

Campbell, 50, will head to the northeast side following a four-year spell in charge of the Netherlands’ national men’s team. Under Campbell, the Netherlands featured at the recent T20 World Cup where their impressive shock win over South Africa in Adelaide denied the Proteas a place in the semi-finals.

Their performances in Australia saw the Netherlands gain direct entry to the Super 12 stage of the 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup in the United States and the West Indies. As a player, Campbell played two one-day internationals for Australia and represented Western Australia for a decade as a wicketkeeper-batsman, scoring 11 first-class centuries.

He also played for and coached Hong Kong. In April, Campbell suffered a cardiac arrest but recovered to oversee the Netherlands’ T20 World Cup campaign in Australia.

Now he is looking forward to his new role at the county club of England Test captain Ben Stokes. “I am extremely honoured to be appointed Durham’s head coach and I can’t wait to get started,” said Campbell in a club statement.

“I will be working with some of England’s best cricketers as well as a young squad full of talent and I hope to bring an attacking, no-fear style of cricket to the club.” Campbell will replace former New Zealand international James Franklin, who left the Second Division County Championship team at the end of last season.

Durham director of cricket Marcus North, himself a former Australia batsman, said: “Following an extensive recruitment process, it became clear that Ryan was the best fit for Durham and the county.”