Jonty Rhodes Named Sweden's Head Coach

South Africa legend Jonty Rhodes was on Thursday appointed as the head coach of Sweden cricket team. The move comes in a bid to develop the junior cricket team. The board is currently focused on the high performance of the side. Rhodes said that he is excited to be a part of the developing board.

The former South Africa cricketer mentioned that cricket in Sweden is the second fastest growing sport and has seen a surge of over 300 per cent in the last two years. Rhodes feels that the opportunity has come to him at the right time and is set to invest his energy in completely new areas.

“Cricket is the second fastest growing sport in Sweden seeing a 300% increase in participation over the past two years.”

“I am really excited to relocate to Sweden with my family and work together with the Swedish Cricket community. This opportunity has come at a perfect time and I am grateful to be able to invest my energies in a completely new environment. I can’t wait to get started,” Rhodes was quoted as saying by swedishcricket.org.

Rhodes’ next assignment will be in the IPL 2020. He is currently serving as the fielding coach for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and take over the role in November. He will be based in Stockholm.

“Our growth targets and key areas are directed toward junior cricket and high performance. Jonty will play a pivotal role in lifting our players as well as assisting in securing quality coaching framework for the future sustainability of the game,” Benn Harradine, sports director of the Swedish Cricket Federation, said. “I am delighted to have him as part of our small and ambitious team.”

Rhodes retired with 2532 runs in Test and 5935 runs in ODIs. He remains the only player to be adjudged the man of the match for his fielding efforts.