Development Coach Mal Loye says he has been impressed with what he’s seen so far at Derbyshire as he continues to work with the Academy and the first team preparing for the new season.
Loye will be responsible for the development of the Cricket Derbyshire Academy in partnership with the University of Derby players and the Second XI, in an attempt to bring through more local first-class players. He will also be supporting the first team ahead of the 2017 season.
Since retiring from the game, Loye, an ECB Level 4 Coach, has held a number of coaching roles within the game including Batting Coach at Natal and High-Performance Head Coach with Bangladesh.
Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, Loye said: “I have always thought that the Academy and Second XI should have the more qualified coaches as the First XI know their game inside out and it’s more a case of managing them.
“The facilities here are excellent and it’s quite nice coming through the gates. I barely knew any of the players when I came here, I played against the senior players such as Billy Godleman.
“Mine and Stephen Stubbings’ role is to help and encourage the way the senior players lead the team. We are here more as a supporting role and I am sure Kim Barnett will be there in the months to come as well.”
Loye added: “It’s giving the players as much opportunity as we possibly can and learning about how to play the game and giving them a bit more responsibility to learn themselves.
“We have got a good relationship with the cricket board and the pathway has become much quicker for Club players and a lot more beneficial for when they reach the Academy and Second XI.
“I personally put myself under a lot of pressure to help as many players who have got the ability and those who haven’t yet because it’s amazing how certain players develop and progress at different stages in their career.
“It’s my job to create as much pressure for the first team guys so we have a plethora of players coming through knocking on the door to become first-class cricketers.”
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