Ireland's Heinrich Malan secures contract extension

Ireland Men's head coach Heinrich Malan has agreed on extending his contract by two years, securing his role until mid-2027. Malan who began his tenure in January 2022 and started working in March of the same year on an initial three-year contract, will now be with the team as they aim for the 2027 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, set to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Ahead of the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup, Malan expressed his enthusiasm about the extension, stating that it provides the squad and coaching staff with much-needed stability. He highlighted the progress made over the past two years in building a sustainable structure for Ireland's three-format squad. Despite a smaller talent pool compared to other Full Members, he emphasized the importance of developing players’ ability to read game situations and play with confidence, even if it involves learning from failures.

“We are now a three-format squad and - despite our smaller talent pool to draw from compared to other Full Members - we have been gradually building a sustainable structure that ensures we can continue to compete and improve on all three fronts," Malan said.

“One area I have been keen on developing is our players being able to better read the game situation and then, where they judge it appropriate, to have the freedom and confidence to try and impose their style and natural instincts on the game. Some of our younger players are literally learning this ability on the job, which means there are days they will fail, but failure is a key part of the learning process. What we as coaches are looking for is evidence that those unsuccessful experiences are analysed and understood by the player and become part of the experience they can draw upon in future matches," he further added.

Malan noted the successes in two T20 World Cup qualifying campaigns and a recent Test victory, while acknowledging the missed opportunities in the last two 50-over World Cups. He identified qualification for the 2027 tournament as a key focus moving forward.

“This work has borne fruit in two successful T20 World Cup qualifying campaigns and in our recent Test success. But we are all conscious that we’ve missed out on playing in the last two 50-over world cups, and qualification for the 2027 tournament will be one of the focus areas across the next three years," he concluded.

Richard Holdsworth, High Performance Director of Cricket Ireland, praised the decision to extend Malan's contract, citing his excellent communication and the significant improvements seen in the T20 format. Holdsworth credited Malan’s research and data-driven approach for creating a successful blueprint for the team, evident in recent victories against Pakistan and a 3-0 Tri-series win in the Netherlands.