Director of cricket Simon Cook has no qualms over newly-appointed Kent man Adam Hollioake’s relative lack of experience as a head coach.
While the former England all-rounder, who was confirmed as Matt Walker’s replacement in December, has plenty of coaching experience, he has only taken on the top job twice before.
That was with the Hong Kong national team in 2000 and, most recently, with Boost Defenders in Afghanistan’s Shpageeza Cricket League in 2017.
But Cook said: “He was made captain at Surrey, aged 21, and he established and developed an era of success with Surrey as a leader. That was as a young leader.
“He then got into the England side in an era where, in One-Day Cricket, it probably wasn’t at its strongest. But he ended up going to Sharjah with a team there and won that tournament (the 1997 Sharjah Cup).
“Clearly, he has got some exceptional leadership qualities and that shone through in the interview. Head coach experience, I’m not so worried about that.
“What I was really impressed with was his leadership qualities and the fact that he’s a genuine leader of men. People will follow him and that’s half the battle.
Ex-Kent head coach Walker’s new role
“Any deficiencies around the ‘head coach’ bit are easier to put right or it’s easier to put a framework around him with that to assist him to ensure he can be the best version of himself.
“If we get that, we’ll have a very successful era for Kent Cricket.”
Hollioake made 39 appearances for England in total during his career, including playing four Tests, and Cook expects to see his competitive all-action nature shine through as a coach just as much as it did when he was a player.
“He will want to instil that positive attitude,” he stated. “When he played, he was a competitor.
“You knew that you were in a fight – and that’s him. He was saying throughout the interview process, if I get this job, I’m all in. I’m only really happy if we are moving forwards.
“That’s his whole driving force is to make sure – as a club and as a group of players – we’re moving forward in everything we do.”
Cook also confirmed Kent’s focus for the campaign will be more around the shorter formats.
He said: “We’re in a position where we can’t necessarily compete on all three formats. So, we will be looking to target the white-ball formats for short-term success while building a stronger platform in four-day cricket.
“That’s not to say we won’t be trying to get promoted, we absolutely are, but there might be a bit of priority into those white-ball formats for the next couple of years.
“But Adam won’t be one to take a backward step – and he won’t want the players to be taking a backward step.
“It’ll be a fun ride.”
Cook believes signing a three-year contract will allow Hollioake enough time to help develop Kent’s fairly young first-team squad as he eyes a 2029 return to County Championship Division 1 cricket.
He said: “Three years is a good enough time for him to put into place what he wants to put into place.
“I think anything shorter than that and you’re almost into Franchise coach territory where you’re just coming in, managing a team or a squad on a daily basis and then leaving. You don’t really have any roots in there.
“One thing he was very keen on – and he did the same at Surrey when he was captain – is building a 12-month model where he can work with players, as opposed to just coming in and out. You can then start to build those relationships.
“Over that three-year period, by year three, you can really start to look at ‘Where are we, moving forwards?’ and ‘Where are we at right now?’. Our aim, by 2029, is that we really want to be into Division 1.
“That’s the ultimate goal to be back there while still competing across white-ball cricket. But it will take a few years. We have got a young squad with an average age of around 26.
“We need to keep developing them, keep giving them platforms to develop, the space and framework to develop, and that’ll help us to have sustained success when we do get back into Division 1.”
