David Hathrill named head coach of Kent

David Hathrill has been appointed as head coach of Kent for the 2020 county season, it was announced on Wednesday (November 20). The 23-year-old will replace Mark Dekker who led the team to the one-day championship last season.

Hathrill has been involved with Kent for the last two years, having worked with all age-groups, right from Under-13. He also worked as the senior team’s assistant coach during their championship-winning run under Dekker in 2019. He will begin his tenure with the team towards the end of this month, when they come together for winter training.

“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to lead Kent Women into the 2020 season, with exciting new opportunities for the women’s game coming in the new year,” said Hathrill. “To work with a squad that were crowned County Champions in 2019 is a fantastic opportunity for me to work alongside one of the best women’s teams in the country, as well as laying down new foundations to keep Kent at the forefront of the game.”

The Bexley-born coach has been closely involved with women’s development programs over the last few years. For starters, he set up a joint coaching centre in Bexley that focuses on girls’ development. Then he took up a role with Kent Cricket, managing the England and Wales Cricket Board’s female ‘cluster club’ program that is designed to enable the growth of female clubs across the county.

Hathrill will be assisted by Nick Bier, the long-serving Kent coach, while Lin Martin and Helen Fagg will continue their roles as ‘match day’ and ‘Non-match day’ managers, respectively.

“We’re really pleased to be able to appoint a Head Coach that has already been a part of our successful women’s programme for the past two years,” Paul Downton, Kent Cricket’s Director of cricket, said.

“David is a young and talented coach with experience of working with all stages of the women’s player pathway, as well as the drive and ambition to make waves in women’s cricket at this level.”

Downton went on to thank Dekker for his contributions to the women’s game in Kent and laying a strong foundation from which the team could launch.