Cricket Ireland today announced the appointment of Richard Holdsworth as their new Performance Director.42 year old Holdsworth, the current ICC Europe Regional Development Manager, will replace Mark Garaway, who last month announced his resignation for personal reasons. The main focus of his role is to ensure that all International squads develop against the most professional backdrop possible, which will include managing the performances of all the coaching staff and the National Age Group squads, coaches and managers. He will also be responsible for developing relationships and identifying opportunities for success with both the players and Cricket Ireland's many stakeholders.Cricket Ireland Chief Executive Warren Deutrom said of the appointment: "We are delighted to bring Richard into our senior management team. We are fortunate indeed to retain someone of his undoubted calibre and great credibility, and it speaks volumes for our progress that we continue to attract the best in the business."He has a very strong reputation in the international cricket fraternity, particularly through his role as the head of ICC’s European operation for the last 8 years, and who better to take forward the ambitious objectives outlined in the 2009 Holdsworth Report into the future of Irish domestic cricket than its author."Richard Holdsworth said of his new role: "Having worked closely with Cricket Ireland over the past eight years in my role as Regional Development Manager for the International Cricket Council and as the author of their Domestic Review in 2009, I am delighted to become part of a very successful Associate member country. I very much look forward to building further on Cricket Ireland's successful development of the game, particularly the performance of its international men's, women's and youth teams, who I believe have immense talent, fighting spirit and share a great passion for the game. "I have worked with players, teams, coaches, support staff and management over the last 17 years during my professional career in cricket, with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, ECB and currently with the International Cricket Council, and feel the knowledge and experience I have gained will help ensure Ireland continues its successful period for years to come. The executive team at Cricket Ireland are highly skilled and experienced operators and I look forward to joining their team. My family are looking forward to relocating to Ireland where we have always enjoyed spending time in recent years, and been so well looked after by the Irish cricketing family."Holdsworth will take up the role of Performance Director in November.
