David James Saker (born 29 May 1966) is an Australian cricket coach and former player who played first-class cricket for Victoria and Tasmania. He has been the fast bowling coach for the England, Australia and Sri Lanka national cricket team.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | David James Saker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 May 1966 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm fast-medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Matthew Gale (nephew) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994/95–1999/00 | Victoria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000/01–2002/03 | Tasmania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 17 August 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing career edit
Saker was born at Melbourne, Victoria in 1966. A right-arm fast-medium bowler, Saker made his first class debut in the 1994–95 season. He spent six years with the Bushrangers before accepting an offer to join the Tasmanian side at the start of the 2000–01 season. As a veteran in a fairly young side he was named as their Player of the Year for 2001–02. Saker was also a handy batsman, making four first class half-centuries, even opening the batting at times for the Bushrangers in limited-overs games. He retired in 2002–03 with 247 wickets to his name at 30.10.
Coaching edit
In 2004 he became an assistant coach at Victoria under Greg Shipperd.
On 8 April 2010, Saker was appointed as the fast bowling coach of the England cricket team, replacing the departing Ottis Gibson.[1] After Saker's key role in the team winning the 2010–11 Ashes series, he was handed a new three-year contract.[2]
Saker left the English job in early 2015, and was appointed head coach of the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.[3] Two months later, he was also appointed coach of the Victoria Bushrangers in first class and one day cricket.[4] He led Victoria to the Sheffield Shield in his only season with the state, and was then appointed fast-bowling coach for the Australian national cricket team in July 2016.[5] He resigned on 7 February 2019 with immediate effect following investigations into his role in the ball tampering saga.[6]
In July 2019, he was appointed as the fast bowling coach of the United States national cricket team on a short-term basis. In December 2019, he was appointed as the fast bowling coach of Sri Lanka national cricket team on two-year contract.[7] He then coached England at the 2022 T20 World Cup and agreed to coach the England Test team for the 2023 Ashes.[8]
References edit
- ^ "Saker named as England bowling coach". ESPN. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- ^ "Fast bowling coach David Saker extends England deal". BBC Sport. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ "David Saker takes head coach role at Melbourne Renegades". BBC Sport. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ Greg Buckle (15 May 2015). "David Saker appointed Victoria coach after leaving role as England bowling coach". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ Greg Buckle (14 July 2016). "David Saker appointed Australian bowling coach after guiding Victoria to Sheffield Shield title". Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
- ^ sport, The Guardian (7 February 2019). "Bowling coach David Saker quits in latest Australian cricket shakeup". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ "USA Cricket Announces New National Team Coaching Structure". USA Cricket. 13 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ Burnton, Simon (13 March 2023). "David Saker agrees to be England's fast bowling coach for Ashes". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 April 2023.