One of South Africa's cricketing icons Herschelle Gibbs is one of the six foreign coaches that have been named in the second year of the Engro Cricket Coaching Project under the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) Pathway Cricket Programme. The same will get under way next week as has been confirmed in an official release by the cricket-governing body. Around 120 players between the age group U-13 to U-19 will be provided training by local coaches from Lahore and Muridke as well as overseas coaches.
It is pertinent to note that ECN and Engro Corporation had signed a three-year agreement in 2022 after which it is the Corporation which is sponsoring the foreign coaches that are part of this setup. Among the six coaches, three have played international include with the most renowned one of them being Gibbs himself having represented the Proteas in 90 Tests, 248 ODIs and 23 T20Is. Other than Gibbs, Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Taibu (28 Tests, 150 ODIs and 17 T20Is) and Australia’s Geoff Lawson (46 Tests, 79 ODIs). The other coaches are New Zealand’s Scott McLaren (strength and conditioning coach) and United Kingdom’s Gordon Parsons and Julien Fountain.
Meanwhile, it is being learnt that while five coaches will be working under the programme, Gibbs will be working only with the U-13 and U-16 contingent. Gibbs will make an exit from the country on July 16 and his place will be taken by Lawson who will be working with the U-16 players before teaming up with the U19 players. It is worth highlighting that this is not the first time Parsons will be associating with this programme, he had been part of the same in 2022 as well. While he will be employed as a bowling coach, Fountain will be the fielding coach in the programme.