Former New South Wales opening bowler Trent Johnston is to return to his former state to join the NSW Blues as an assistant and pathways coach.
Johnston, represented the Blues between 1998-99 and 1999-200, playing five First Class matches and one Limited Overs fixture.
The right-arm paceman then moved to Ireland in 1995 as a professional in the Leinster League and gained citizenship, which led to the most famous part of his career, as he represented his adopted country.
Johnston played 67 ODIs, 33 first-class and 30 T20I matches for Ireland, as well as captaining Ireland to Intercontinental Cup titles in 2005 and 2006-07, in addition to leading the side in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
He was also part of many of Ireland’s greatest results, including the tied match against Zimbabwe in the 2007 ICC World Cup in the West Indies, that preceded the famous victory over Pakistan in Kingston in the same tournament, where Johnston hit the winning runs to send Ireland into the Super 8 stage for the first time.
Johnston, was also a member of the 2011 World Cup team that famously chased down 329 to defeat England on an incredible day for Irish cricket.
The 40 year-old will now return to Sydney to use his experience and knowledge to assist Trevor Bayliss with the NSW Blues, in addition to working with the NSW youth programs.
Cricket NSW State Cricket General Manager David Moore expressed delight that Johnston was returning home:
“Trent has an outstanding cricketing background and as a former Blue who has played cricket around the world with Ireland, he will bring a great deal of experience and knowledge to our coaching set-up. He was a hard-working cricketer who made the most of his abilities and he will bring those qualities to Cricket NSW. We are confident that he will be an invaluable addition to our current group of coaches.”
Cricket NSW Chief Executive Andrew Jones was also looking forward to Johnston joining the organisation:
“We are delighted that we have been able to bring Trent into our coaching set-up. As a former member of the Blues, he was an honest and dedicated cricketer who has had a major impact on the Irish cricketing landscape, as both a player and coach. To be able to bring someone of his calibre into our coaching group is tremendous news as he will provide both a driven attitude and strong work ethic to the teams that he will work with.” said Jones.
