Mark Wright appointed new director of cricket
Cricket Hong Kong announces former player-coach for the top post in the wake of the unexpected resignations of two senior executives this month
Cricket Hong Kong (CHK) on Friday announced the appointment of the chief selector of representative squads, Mark Wright, as director of cricket. This comes in the wake of the unexpected resignations of two senior executives this month.
Earlier this week, coaching stalwart Charlie Burke said a combination of professional and also personal reasons convinced him to leave the national set-up and take up a senior role with the Kowloon Cricket Club. He made his announcement just days after CHK chief executive Tim Cutler said he was leaving the governing body without fully explaining why.
Wright, 36, who came to the city in 2007, has held a number of positions here, including stints as player-coach of the senior representative men’s side and of Hong Kong Cricket Club. As sports development manager at HKCC, Wright implemented successful development programmes for a number of sports, including rugby, hockey, netball, squash and tennis, a CHK statement said.
Wright was chairman of the selection committee for the Hong Kong representative squads at the time of this announcement. He previously served as player-coach of the men’s national team through a key period in 2013 and 2014 when the team achieved full ODI status on the back of their successful results. Wright also coached the Hong Kong U19s team in 2015.
“The appointment is a key part of the organisation’s strategy to further accelerate the growth of the sport and drive [CHK’s] ongoing success on the international stage,” the statement said.
Rodney Miles, CHK president, said “few have done more to drive the development of the sport over the past decade than Mark”.
“With his international cricket expertise as a player, coach and administrator; his local knowledge, and a track record of sports development, Mark was clearly the best candidate amongst a very high quality international field of applicants,” Miles said.
Wright’s role will cover all aspects of the game from international high performance squads through to domestic cricket and grassroots programmes.
“Having been involved with cricket in Hong Kong for many years, I can clearly see the opportunities ahead and I have absolute confidence in the team at Cricket Hong Kong to achieve further success at all levels,” said Wright, who will assume the role in June.
