Central Districts Cricket is delighted to announce the appointment of GLENN POCKNALL to the role of Coach, Performance and Pathways.

Pocknall is a successful, experienced coach in the New Zealand Domestic cricket environment whose background includes four years as Head Coach of the Wellington Firebirds (2018 to 2022) — winning national titles in all three men’s formats in that time.

He has also served NZC as New Zealand A men’s head coach, and BLACKCAPS interim head coach.

At the end of last summer, Pocknall elected to step down from his Firebirds Head Coach role in order to refocus on talent development, and joins CD from his most recent role as head of Cricket Wellington’s Talent Acceleration Programme.

Pocknall’s new position will see him mentor up-and-coming CD players and District coaches across the region, and lead the Central Districts A programme that feeds into the Central Stags squad.

Said CD Manager, High Performance DAVE MEIRING, “This is a wonderful appointment for CD.

“Glenn’s record speaks for itself and to have someone of Glenn’s background keen to work at the tier below the Stags for us, and pass on his knowledge and experience, is very exciting for our players coming through and District coaches.

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“We feel really fortunate to now have three coaches on our staff with first-class coaching experience in Central Stags Head Coach Rob Walter, Assistant Coach Aldin Smith, and Glenn.

“We were highly impressed by Glenn through the interview process and we’re confident his philosophies will fit in well throughout the organisation.

"I’m really excited to have someone of his calibre join us in this integral role.”

Pocknall said the move to CD is “something new and exciting for me. Working across a region as sweeping as CD — eight District Associations straddling both islands, leapfrogging Wellington, and then taking in a massive chunk of the North Island from coast to coast — is going to be a challenge I have never had, coming from Wellington where everyone is just 20 minutes away.“

CD is unique in that regard, and I’ve always admired what CD has achieved.

“I’ve also always had good interactions with CD people so I’m really looking forward to helping CD and the Districts, and learning more about how they develop their players and coaches.

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”Earlier this year, Pocknall had signalled that his reason for stepping down from his successful Firebirds stint was that he felt a hankering to return to working one-on-one with players as a hands-on cricket coach.

“I’d realised I was missing that individual work in my Head Coach role over the past four years where you move more into managing the coaching team around you.

“I genuinely enjoy learning more about a player and understanding where they want to go, then working with them to achieve that, and seeing the players improve really quickly.

“Seeing that come off in a game situation — that gives me a massive buzz.” 

A passionate coach for more than a decade at Cricket Wellington, Pocknall is also looking forward to mentoring other coaches. He takes up his new Palmerston North-based role on 3 October 2022.

Central Districts Cricket is thoroughly delighted to welcome Glenn to the team.

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Article added: Monday 19 September 2022