Russell Domingo, South Africa's assistant coach, has been promoted to
the role of head coach for the national Twenty20 side. In a managerial
split similar to England's, Gary Kirsten will retain overall
accountability of all squads but Domingo will take some of the burden
off him in the shortest format.
His rein begins in little over two weeks when South Africa host New
Zealand for three T20s, starting on December 21. The three-match series
also includes the Boxing Day T20, which replaced the traditional Test
this year. South Africa will also play two T20s against Pakistan in
March 2013.
"I believe this decision is a positive move to creating a more
sustainable and balanced coaching approach," Kirsten said. "It's common
best-practice around the world, and we feel it will give us the platform
to spread our coaching resources efficiently."
Domingo was appointed at the same time as Kirsten and bowling coach
Allan Donald in June last year. At the time, Kirsten had made his
intention clear to delegate responsibility, especially because his wife
was expecting their third child and he wanted to spend sufficient time
with his young family.
Before any drastic changes could take place though, Kirsten's immediate
priorities were to oversee South Africa's rise to No.1 in the Test
rankings and aim for ICC T20 glory. He only managed one of those goals
as South Africa claimed and retained the mace in England and Australia
but faltered at the World T20 in Sri Lanka, where they did not make it
out of the second round.
Now, there is a suggestion that South Africa will look to completely
overhaul the T20 set-up, starting by putting Domingo in charge. "He
fully understands the team culture and will be able to build that
culture with the new crop of T20 players we will be blooding this
season," Kirsten said of Domingo.
South Africa threw all the resources into capturing the ICC silverware,
even recalling stalwart allrounder Jacques Kallis for the tournament in
Sri Lanka. But having failed in that quest again, they are planning
ahead for the 2014 edition of the tournament.
A significant number of promising players could expect to be injected
into the T20 side this summer as a new-look squad is created. These may
include allrounder Chris Morris, left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso and
Titans captain and opening batsman Henry Davids.
Domingo, who managed the Warriors franchise before his national
appointment, has intricate knowledge of players on the South African
domestic circuit from that experience. Notably, he was also in charge
when Warriors won their first trophies of the franchise system: T20 and
one-day cups in the 2009-10 season.
Warriors qualified for the Champions League T20 in 2010 and under
Domingo reached the final at home. While Kirsten already knew of
Domingo's coaching calibre from back when Domingo employed Kirsten as a
consultant, those results also influenced Domingo's ascendance to the
international stage.
"Coaching at the highest level has always been a goal of mine and I'm
looking forward to building on the foundation we have set for this
format," Domingo said.
Kirsten will remain involved in selection and strategic planning of the
T20 squad but Domingo will be involved in the day-to-day activities.
This will also give Kirsten more time off to accommodate his family
responsibilities. Kirsten remains in charge of the one-day squad though,
with an eye on the 2015 World Cup.
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