I wasn’t enjoying the role at Cricket Hong Kong, says former director of cricket Charlie Burke

Coaching stalwart Charlie Burke said a combination of professional and personal reasons convinced him to leave the national cricket set-up and take up a senior role with the Kowloon Cricket Club.

Speaking days after Cricket Hong Kong chief executive Tim Cutler said he was leaving the governing body without explaining why, Burke said he had differences with the Cricket Hong Kong board in certain aspects of development. He also said he was “disappointed” Cutler was no longer at Cricket Hong Kong.

He added that he felt it was the right time to move on after seven years with Cricket Hong Kong, which included a stint as head coach of the national team and culminating in his appointment as director of cricket.

“I felt after seven years of service with the national team and with the high-performance programme and development, it was time to move on,” said Burke, who has taken up a similar role at Kowloon Cricket Club (KCC) after leaving Cricket Hong Kong in March. “I was approached by KCC and they asked me if I was interested in a position there. It’s more of a management role and offers me potential cricket pathways management-wise.

“I received tremendous support from the Cricket Hong Kong board during my time with them. But I did feel as if the direction we were going in was not necessarily where I felt we should be going and that happens from time to time.

“Boards have to make decisions and sometimes tough decisions and I just thought it was time to move on.