UCT cricket coach headhunted by Windies

For cricket lovers, the name West Indies conjures up images of legends like Clive Lloyd, Brian Lara and Michael Holding, who dominated world cricket for decades.

Now, one of UCT’s own has been handed the chance to work with a national team of almost unmatched pedigree. Ryan Maron, who has coached UCT’s cricket team for the past six years, was appointed the West Indies fielding coach in August this year.

Maron joins Roddy Estwick and Toby Radford as the assistant coaches to Stuart Law, who heads the coaching team. He replaces Andre Coley who was recently named head coach of the Windward Islands Volcanoes.

Jimmy Adams, Cricket West Indies’ director of cricket, welcomed the new coach.

“We are pleased to have Ryan join us,” said Adams, himself a former West Indies international. “He has a vast knowledge of the game and has done some very good work. As we prepare for the upcoming Wisden Trophy Test Series in England, I’m sure he will be a great addition to the coaching staff.”

Aside from his career at UCT, Maron founded and runs the Cricket School of Excellence for promising youngsters. He also played professionally for Western Province, worked with the Dolphins franchise in KwaZulu-Natal and with the Afghanistan men’s national team as a fielding specialist.

“A massive privilege”

Maron is delighted to be joining the West Indies team.

“This is a massive privilege to be involved in West Indies cricket and I’m delighted to join the Windies coaching staff,” he said. “I have followed West Indies cricket over the years as a kid and then as a player and a coach and I’m just happy to be offered this opportunity to make a contribution as a coach.”

He added: “The game in the West Indies has a great history and here in this group we have a young bunch of cricketers who will perform well. I’m also looking forward to working with the ODI and T20 sides as we look to climb back up the ladder in world cricket.”

Maron is keen to continue being involved at UCT, although he is taking a step back from the day-to-day responsibilities, and he is working with the committee to appoint a successor. His cricket academy will also remain in full swing, and he’s in daily contact with the team who handle operations.

“Six years of work at UCT … I’m not prepared to allow things to slip. The committee are putting great structures in place and we want to get all UCT’s sides back into the main leagues. We want to ensure the team competes in the Varsity Week in October and in the Varsity Cup, if they qualify, which I’m sure they will, in March [next year].”

“UCT is still my club, and I’ll ensure that the structures are in place to allow the players to perform at their best,” he said.