Griffith to oversee development of next gen of Aussie quicks

Developing the next generation of Australian quicks will be the key focus for Adam Griffith, who has been appointed Cricket Australia’s new National Pace Bowling Coach.

Griffith will relocate to Brisbane to take up the post at the National Cricket Centre from his current role as an assistant coach with Victoria.

A Sheffield Shield winner with Tasmania in the state’s first domestic triumph in 2006-07, Griffith also earned Australia A selection in a career that saw him claim 169 wickets in 50 first-class games.

Griffith has previously been part of the Australian men’s set-up on bilateral tours in 2012 and 2016 and at the 2019 50-over World Cup in England.

He will now play a key role in shaping a national strategy to develop the next generation of pace bowlers.

Mitchell Starc will turn 35 next week, Josh Hazlewood is 34 and Pat Cummins is a comparative youngster at 31. Scott Boland is 35 and Michael Neser 34.

Of fast bowlers on the fringes of the Aussie Test set-up or involved in the white-ball squads, Nathan Ellis is 30, Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith are 28, left-armer Spencer Johnson is 29, Lance Morris and Xavier Bartlett are both 26, Sean Abbott is 32, while rising Victoria seamer Fergus O’Neill will this weekend turn 24.

Pace bowling allrounder Cameron Green is 25, as is Victorian Will Sutherland, while NSW’s Jack Edwards is 24.

Griffith's role will include joining national men’s head coach Andrew McDonald’s set-up, as well as with the Australia A men’s team, as well as assisting with the development of pace bowling coaches.

The role will also be tasked with coordinating how to best manage Australian quicks across international and domestic programmes.

Griffith's coaching experience is extensive, having immediately moved into the backroom set-up of Western Australia after retiring from playing in 2011.

He was a senior assistant at WA and the Perth Scorchers as the state’s programme was on the rise towards domestic dominance before a move back to his native Tasmania in 2017. There he held roles as the head coach of the Tasmania Tigers and Hobart Hurricanes outfits before moving into an overarching role as the state’s Director of Coaching.

He stepped away from Tasmania in early 2022, shortly after taking up a role with Victoria’s men’s team under Chris Rogers. He has worked for several years as the bowling coach at Royal Challengers Bangalore before the franchise terminated the roles of a number of foreign coaches this year to appoint domestic talent.

"I'm delighted Adam will bring his extensive experience to Cricket Australia as National Pace Bowling Coach and become an important part of our coaching set up," McDonald said in a statement.

"Adam's expertise across all formats will be invaluable in the preparation of pace bowlers for Australia’s national men's teams."