Rowley hails appointment of player-coach Sellers (From Swindon Advertiser)

Rowley hails appointment of player-coach Sellers

7:00am Wednesday 16th November 2011 in Cricket By Andrew Warren

LECHLADE chairman Paul Rowley has hailed Luke Sellers’ appointment as player-coach as the most important cricketing decision the club has ever made.

The 27-year-old, who has represented Gloucestershire 2nds and currently plays Minor Counties cricket for Herefordshire, will oversee all areas of the club at the Manor Ground and will coordinate coaching plans for the junior and senior sides.

The level three coach will also play for the club’s first XI, and Rowley is looking forward to him taking over when winter nets begin in February.

“It was very important for us to appoint a club coach who can oversee everything from the junior boys and girls teams all the way up to the seniors, and in Luke I am confident we have got that,” he said.

“I can not believe we have got him here and he is everything we wanted and more.

“We are an ambitious, motivated and forward-thinking club, and this appointment goes to show that.”

Rowley is also excited to see what Sellers can offer on the field, and is expecting him to work closely with captain Paul Godding.

He said: “We would be silly not to take advantage of his experience on the field, and I am sure the two of them will work well together.

“Luke has obviously played cricket to a very good standard, and is a great bowler and a mean batsman, but I think the most important thing is his leadership, and that was something we needed.”

Sellars told the Advertiser he hopes his experience will benefit all areas of the club, and is looking forward to getting started.

“As soon as I made contact with Lechlade I could see it was very forward thinking and progressive, so it was an attractive proposition for me,” he said.

“Some people may see it as a step down because I had some offers from teams at the top of club cricket in the area, but it is not often you get the chance to come into a club like that and be involved in everything like this.

“I hope I can use my experience to benefit people at the club. I still have something to offer on the pitch too, which I look forward to doing when the season comes back around.”