Chris Siddell Appointed Manager Of Ireland Senior Men's Team

Chris Siddell has been appointed by Cricket Ireland as the new Team Operations Manager of the Ireland senior men's team.

The 29 year-old will take over the reins from current incumbent Roy Torrens, who is retiring following the culmination of the ICC Cricket World Cup next month.

Siddell is a graduate of Durham University, where he gained both a BA Honours in Sport, Health and Exercise and also obtained his PGCE, which saw him take up a career in teaching.

He worked for several years with Durham CCC, fulfilling a versatile role splitting time between coaching and working under the Operations Manager to support in the delivery of first class and international cricket at the county.

He moved to Malahide in 2013 where in addition to playing for the village side, is also their Cricket Development Officer. Siddell has also been a National Selector for the Ireland Women team since June last year, and recently was appointed the Digital Media Editor for the Cricket Ireland website.

"It's a really exciting time for Irish cricket and I'm delighted to take up the role ahead of the visit of England, the World T20 Qualifiers and Ireland's match against Australia," said Siddell.

"I'm looking forward to getting started, and continuing Roy's fantastic work with the team ahead of one of the biggest ever years for the senior men's side."

Cricket Ireland Performance Director Richard Holdsworth welcomed the appointment saying: "Chris is building on the great foundations laid by Roy Torrens who has been in the role for 10 years.

"Chris will bring new ideas and good experience having worked in a first class county and international environment where team culture, high performance, attention to detail, and a high level of professionalism are required," continued Holdsworth.

"He already knows many of the players through his coaching role at Malahide CC and through work with Cricket Ireland in a digital media capacity."

Ireland Head Coach Phil Simmons paid tribute to the outgoing manager Roy Torrens saying: "Roy has been an iconic figure within Irish cricket for over 45 years fulfilling every possible role. The last 10 years have been unimaginably successful for Irish cricket and it's a pleasure to have worked in tandem with Roy since 2007.

Myself and the squad wish him all the best on his well earned retirement, and hopefully there will be a few more headline victories before he steps down next month."

Simmons welcomed the appointment of Chris Siddell adding: "It's hard to envisage just how much the role and the Irish cricket calendar has changed in the last 10 years. We played only a handful of fixtures then, but the schedule has expanded enormously in the meantime, and the demands on our team and its manager are only likely to grow, especially with recent ICC announcements.

"Chris comes with a great reputation and I'm sure he'll do a fantastic job for Irish cricket, helping the team to continue its professional development and make a major impression on world cricket. Myself and the squad look forward to working closely with him."