Ahead of the sixth season of the Abu Dhabi T10, Morrisville SAMP Army have named their coaching staff with the legendary South African allrounder Lance Klusener named as the team’s head coach.
Trevor Penney will join him as the assistant coach.
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The duo will work alongside James Foster, one of the most recognised cricketers in the county circles, who will be the batting and wicketkeeping coach.
Klusener, who is remembered for his superlative all-round skills, has a rich coaching experience. He has worked with several T20 leagues around the world, including in the IPL where he was associated with the decorated Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals.
He has also worked with international teams like South Africa, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, and has had a stint in the Abu Dhabi T10 with the Bangla Tigers in 2021.
“It’s great to be back in the Abu Dhabi T10 and I am really looking forward to making a big splash this time with the Morrisville SAMP Army. I am really glad to see the players that have already brought on board and hope we can all sync well and drive the team towards glory. The T10 is a really exciting format and we are here to win,” Klusener in a press release.
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Penney has worked as a coach for IPL teams Punjab Kings (erstwhile Kings XI Punjab), former champions Deccan Chargers (now defunct) and Kolkata Knight Riders. He has been assistant coach of Caribbean Premier League teams St Lucia Zouks, St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, and Barbados Tridents.
More recently, he worked as the lead assistant coach of Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2021 and in April 2022, was named as a head coach for Barbados Royals.
On the other hand, Englishman Foster has had a shorter coaching career than his colleagues, having worked as the T20 batting consultant for Glamorgan for 2019 T20 Blast and the fielding coach for KKR in IPL 2020.
In 2022, he took over as the Head Coach for the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League.
The troika of Klusener, Penney and Foster will work with the likes of South African finisher David Miller (Icon Player), tearaway pacer Anrich Nortje (Platinum player), Moeen Ali and Shimron Hetmyer, all of whom have been named in the squad, which will firm up when the 2022 Official Draft gets underway later in the year.
“By bringing someone like Lance Klusener on board along with Trevor Penney and James Foster, we are making a statement that we will leave no stone unturned to make this squad a champion one. The Abu Dhabi T10 is a great environment and it is a really exciting tournament with some incredible stars in the mix. And we want to be on top of the pile eventually,” Team Morrisville SAMP Army’s CEO Madhukar Shree said in a statement.
The Abu Dhabi T10 will be played held at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi from 23 November – 4 December 2022.
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