Allan Donald: Tour is perfect preparation
Monday 5th February 2018
New assistant coach Allan Donald is relishing his new role and says the FGS Plant Tour is the perfect platform for Kent’s players to secure a spot in the side this season.
The former South Africa bowler has coached around the world and says there’s no better way to prepare the new season.
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Donald said: “It’s a great opportunity for the lads to work outside at this time of year. There’s no substitute for playing outdoors against quality opposition.
“We’ve already faced the likes of Chris Gayle and Andre Russell in the Jamaica squad. They mean business and that’s fantastic for us to play against players of that calibre and experience.
“The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is a good ground with decent nets where we’ll play most of our group games and The Coolidge Ground is looking better all the time.”
Donald will use the West Indies Regional Super50 tournament as an opportunity to look at the strength of the squad.
The softly-spoken South African said: “We want to expose the lads to pressure situations and see how they respond.
“I know from playing here that the pitches can get quite slow and low very quickly so we’ll need to identify when to attack and when we need to be defensive.”
After spells working with the England, New Zealand and South Africa national teams as well as the Indian Premier League, Donald is delighted to be back in county cricket where he won County Championship trophies with Warwickshire as a player and coach.
“It was a frustrating time waiting for my work permit to take up the role but I suppose everything happens for a reason and I am delighted to be here now.
“I’ve been privileged to work with some amazing people in international cricket and the IPL so I hope can pass on some of my experiences to the lads here at Kent.”