Domingo ready-made Birrell Replacement for Hampshire

And how Hashim Amla averaged 45 in Australia (England take note.)

It’s only really the English who criticise county cricket. The administrators are always haggling over its format and squabbling about changes. But you won’t find anybody from outside the country criticising it because, for the vast majority of them, it’s a dream to play, coach or even watch the County Championship.

The latest South African to join the county circuit is former Proteas and Bangladesh coach, Russell Domingo, who will become Hampshire’s head coach next summer replacing his lifetime friend and colleague, the retiring Adi Birrell.

The two men first met in their mid-teens when they were involved in Eastern Province Youth Cricket. In time they became coaches of the A team and B team. When Birrell was appointed 1^st XI coach, he appointed Domingo as his assistant and when Domingo was appointed Proteas coach, he returned the favour. And when Birrell was appointed Sunrisers Eastern Cape coach, Domingo had another gig as number two.

“He is one of the great cricket coaches, an even better human being, and a lifelong mentor for me,” Domingo told me and my co-host, Steve Harmison, on our weekly TalkSport radio show and podcast. So, is the Hampshire job the fulfilment of an ambition for him, too?

“I coached South Africa when I was 35 or 36 which is pretty young, isn’t it? As you coach longer and coach at international level, it’s the same as the players – you don’t feel complete until you’ve coached or played on the county circuit.

“They say you haven’t really coached until you’ve done it on the subcontinent and it’s also true that you haven’t ‘done it’ until you’ve had a county gig. I know how much cricket is played in a county season and I’m expecting a hell of a roller-coaster.

“We play seven four-day games here and we’ll play 14 in England so, as a coach, it’s going to be a great challenge and a great learning experience. English county cricket is where it all happens, right Harmy?”

At which Harmy recalled the experience of playing alongside Australian seamer, Doug Bollinger, during his playing career at Durham: “He started at 100 miles an hour in April, bursting with energy…he wasn’t even factoring in May and June, never mind August and September!”

Domingo said he’d already been warned by Hampshire veteran and fellow South African, Kyle Abbott:

“Kyle told me, you’re going to be getting home some days at 2:00am after a six-hour bus journey and you might have a T20 game the next day so make sure you don’t arrive here all ‘energised’ because you’ll be blown out after three weeks! He’s warned me that I need to pace myself,” Domingo said.

“We only play seven games in each format and we don’t even have crowds in South Africa any more. We can play a domestic four-day game in front of literally nobody but we might have five to six thousand for a Championship match. The Titans and Lions, the two biggest teams here, can play a T20 game in front of 100 people whereas you can get 20,000 at the Oval.

“I’ve really missed that energy and intensity as a coach because it is so much more low-key in South Africa. The interest level in domestic cricket is just so low in South Africa which is very sad because it is still a really good product,” Domingo said.

His batting coach at the Lions is Hashim Amla who played nine Tests in Australia scoring 734 runs at 45.87 with two hundreds including an unforgettable 196 at the WACA. Harmy and I couldn’t resist asking whether he’d spoken to him about England’s current travails during the Ashes. And whether Amla might have some advice for Harry Brook etc…

“Never mind advice, they could have done with him batting for them! But I did ask him about his approach in Australia after watching the England batsman come and go. He said: ‘I made certain I was strong off my legs and pretty much tried to limit scoring to the leg side. Occasionally there might be a little back-foot punch into the off side but there was never, ever a straight drive or cover drive unless it was a full half-volley directly under my eyes.’ It’s not rocket science but it’s what worked for him, and quite a lot of other visiting players in Australia,” Domingo said. Like Sachin Tendulkar.

Domingo will continue to coach the Lions and will even fit another season of SA20 in before his attention turns fully towards Hampshire:

“It’s going to be a busy year but we’ve just had so little cricket in the country and we’re all crying out for more matches and more intensity around our cricket. I’ll say it again, there are some really talented cricketers in our country but they’re playing in front of nobody, which is really sad.”