Furlonge to hit the ground running

NEWLY APPOINTED TT Red Force coach David Furlonge is goal-bound on moulding a crop of players capable of launching a serious challenge in the 2021 Regional Super50 Cup, which bowls off in Antigua and Barbuda in February.

Furlonge was appointed coach of the TT senior men’s cricket team on Monday. He replaced outgoing national coach and ex-West Indies (WI) pacer Mervyn Dillon.

The 62-year-old former national cricketer was selected by a panel from a list of ten qualified candidates who were interviewed.

Last season, Furlonge was the manager/assistant coach of the Red Force team which finished runners-up to Barbados in the aborted Cricket West Indies (CWI) regional four-day tournament.

He was also a member of the TT team, captained by Rangy Nanan, which won the regional four-day title in 1975.

Furlonge plans to hit the ground running.

“The first major thing for me is to sit with the players. We need to agree on goals, objectives, where we want to be and what we want to do as we progress. We want to win, so we have to agree how we’re going to get there.

“I wouldn’t like to say before I meet with them what my plans are to get there. I would like to allow their suggestions so there can be clear communication/agreement between both parties to be successful,” he said.

Furlonge has a Cricket Australia Level III High Performance Coaching Certificate and is also a certified Level II WI coach.

After receiving confirmation of his appointment on Monday, Furlonge resigned as cricket administration head coach at Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC). He held this post for the past decade and led the dominant local club to an array of domestic titles. During his reign at QPCC, the club copped 18 Premiership Division titles and 24 others in varying divisions such as Premiership II and North Zone, among others.

He felt this was the right thing to do.

“I don’t think it’s ethical for me to continue on as QPCC coach and be national coach. You don’t want to be seen as being biased to one group of players. I have, from today (Monday), resigned my position as cricket administration head coach at Queen’s Park.

“I had a meeting this morning with the chairman and secretary of the club’s cricket committee and they will make decisions regarding my replacement,” he added.

Furlonge expressed elation at his appointment and said it was something he had been working towards since the start of his coaching career, some 20 years ago.

He was also coach of the victorious TT Under-17 team in 2017 which powered to the regional 50-over title. A year later, he led the national Under-19 squad to the regional three-day title.

He is hopeful that he can replicate similar successes with the senior team.

“I look forward to having the same success as I did with both my now former club and the national youth teams. Being national coach was an opportunity I always looked forward to. I got the opportunity at the Under-17 and Under-19 levels and was successful there, so I always hoped that I would, one day, get this call,” he said.

In a media release on Monday, the TT Cricket Board (TTCB) expressed its appreciation for the services of outgoing national coach Dillon, whose one-year contract ended on April 30. The cricket board wished him well in his future endeavours.

TTCB also thanked the candidates for their keen interest.

It said it "was satisfied with the integrity, transparency and accountability of the process used for the first time to select a national senior men’s team coach which involved an advertisement in the media inviting candidates for the position.

“A panel appointed by the TTCB initially received a list of 18 applications which was later reduced to ten through seven withdrawals and one failure to respond before the stipulated deadline,” the release read.

In naming Furlonge, the panel noted his excellent leadership qualities, astute knowledge of all aspects of the game and familiarity with the technological tools to improve the national team. They also took into consideration his visionary plan for the immediate future, communication skills and qualifications.

Furlonge plans to have a meeting with the TTCB on their aims and objectives for the coming regional cricket season, especially in the light of the challenges posed by the pandemic.

The release continued, “Furlonge acknowledged that he will have to hit the ground running to maximise the limited time available to work with members of the provisional national squad which has been training under Kelvin Williams, and David Williams, both of whom he expects to meet with shortly.

“He said his main concerns are physical fitness and the technical work the squad has been undergoing to identify what was needed to ramp up preparations in the midst of the Christmas season and the impending TTCB 50-Overs competition planned for January, pending the lifting of Government’s covid19 regulations by the Prime Minister.”

Furlonge said he will also meet with the senior men’s national selection panel headed by Rajendra Mangalie as well as the national cricketers themselves.