Former Ireland international Jeremy Bray has been appointed head coach and high performance manager of Vanuatu Cricket.
Former Ireland international Jeremy Bray is the new head coach and high performance manager for Vanuatu Cricket. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Sydney-born left hander, 47, has coached the Denmark men's team since 2014 and is expected to arrive in Vanuatu next month.
A former Australian Under 19 representative, Bray played 15 One Day Internationals and two T20 internationals for Ireland between 2006 and 2009, scoring a century against Zimbabwe at the 2007 World Cup.
Bray fills the vacancy left by Simon Keen, who resigned shortly after his appointment to the Vanuatu jobs 12 months ago because of the impact of Covid-19.
Vanuatu Cricket's outgoing CEO Shane Deitz, who will shortly take up a coaching role in the Netherlands, said Bray's appointment was a welcome relief.
"To find someone at his calibre is extremely difficult and we have been without a full-time coach and high-performance manager for over three years," he said.
"National team performance at the global stage is key to the development and existence of the VCA and we look forward to welcoming Jeremy to Vanuatu."
"We have high expectations for him as I'm sure he has for us and he is the best candidate for this role so we are confident that he will be taking our high-performance team and Vanuatu Cricket in the right direction and that is towards success and growth."
Simon Keen (L with Shane Deitz) resigned shortly after his appointment 12 months ago. Photo: Facebook / Vanuatu Cricket
After six years in Denmark, Bray was looking forward to a new challenge and being closer to his extended family in Australia.
"From all reports, the Vanuatu cricketing community is a very proud and tight knit unit which tells me there is a lot of history and great culture attached to the organisation which has me very excited knowing I will soon be a part of that community."
One of his focuses in Vanuatu will be developing the national teams' ability to play spin.
"The formula for success in the associate world is pretty simple: you must have batsmen who are good at playing spin and have good spin bowlers because that is exactly what the majority of associate cricket is based around and that is spin bowling.
"Combine that with disciplined skilful seam bowlers and an outstanding fielding unit, then you are well on your way to going higher up the ranks in the associate world."