Daijiworld Media Network - London
London, Oct 12: Former South Africa head coach Eric Simons and ex-England wicketkeeper James Foster have joined the senior men’s red-ball coaching staff under newly appointed head coach Stephen Fleming, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Monday.
Simons, who worked with Fleming for eight years at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and Foster, who served as CSK’s fielding coach during IPL 2026, will join England’s Test coaching unit alongside Marcus Trescothick and Richard Dawson. Their first assignment will be England’s tour of South Africa later this year.
Dawson has taken over as the Elite National Spin Bowling Lead after stepping down as head coach of Glamorgan.
“Our gain is Glamorgan's loss. To go back into county cricket, where often you're not at the most-resourced club in the world, to do what Richard's done has been brilliant,” England men’s managing director Rob Key was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
Dawson acknowledged the significance of his move to the national set-up, describing it as an opportunity he could not turn down.
“It's a decision I haven't made lightly, and an opportunity I couldn't pass up,” Dawson said in a statement issued by Glamorgan.
He previously served as head coach of England Lions and England Under-19s, besides working as an England Elite Pathways coach.
Foster was a white-ball consultant coach for the England men’s team between 2018 and 2022 before working with New Zealand’s cricket set-up in recent years. He also served as head coach of the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred during 2022-23 and has coaching experience in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Simons, meanwhile, worked as a bowling consultant with the South Africa men’s team and served as India’s bowling coach when the team won the 2011 Men’s ODI World Cup. He also worked as an assistant coach with Joburg Super Kings in the SA20.
The appointments mean CSK will have to look for new bowling and fielding coaches ahead of IPL 2027.
Under England’s new coaching structure, Mike Yardy will take over as Elite National Batting Lead, while Dawson will oversee spin bowling. Troy Cooley will continue in his existing role as Elite National Pace Bowling Lead.
Key stressed that white-ball cricket remained a major priority, particularly with the 2027 ODI World Cup scheduled to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
For the upcoming tour of Australia, Brendon McCullum’s white-ball coaching set-up will include former England batter Kevin Pietersen in a specialist mentor role, alongside Jeetan Patel, Tim Southee and Sarah Taylor.
“There’s a number of coaches in our game that would have an opportunity in the future to coach England. These are the guys that have been in our set-up a little bit. They've come through the system — whether it's Under-19 cricket or Jonathan Trott doing the Lions — we've got the best of what this country has to offer so far. So it'd be a great experience for them,” Key added.