Bears appoint former Kent chief as new batting coach
Warwickshire have appointed former Kent head coach Matthew Walker as their new batting coach.
The 51-year-old, who has also worked with England, replaces Tony Frost in the role after the latter became head of cricket operations as part of a major shake-up at Edgbaston.
Walker left Kent last September after eight years at the helm and recently worked with Bears batters Dan Mousley and Jacob Bethell during their limited overs tour to the West Indies.
“I am thrilled and honoured to be joining Warwickshire,” said Walker. “It’s a club I’ve always admired and loved playing against over the years.
“I am extremely excited to be working closely with the playing squad. They are an incredibly talented group and I can’t wait to start working with them.
“I had the pleasure of spending some time with Jacob and Dan on England’s tour to the West Indies and I know the rest of the batting group is filled with great skill and ability. I am looking forward to what I am sure will be a very successful season for the club.”
As a player, Walker scored more than 20,000 career runs and averaged over 50 in a season on three occasions with Kent, including 2006 when he hit 1,419 runs at an average of 61.19.
He enjoyed 16 seasons at Kent, becoming a firm Club favourite, before ending his playing days at Essex where he replaced Graham Gooch as batting coach in 2012.
After two seasons Walker returned to Kent as assistant coach before being promoted to head coach.
His arrival continues a restructure of the Warwickshire coaching staff which recently saw Ian Westwood replace Mark Robinson as head coach,
Westwood said: “Matt is hugely experienced as a player, specialist batting coach and head coach. It’s rare to have someone of his calibre available; he’ll be a good fit for the club and our coaching team.
“He knows the County Championship circuit inside out and has great white ball coaching pedigree in The Hundred and with England.
“He’s worked with some of our lads as part of the England coaching set-up and everyone I’ve chatted to speaks very highly of him. It’s great to have Matt on board.”
