Ex-county man at helm

COUNTY DAYS: Kevin Cooper stands right behind Sir Richard Hadlee, front row third from right, in this photo of the Nottinghamshire county cricket team in 1987. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Cricket Wairarapa have scored a major coup with the appointment of a former English county player, Kevin Cooper, as their director of cricket.

Cooper, who will take over responsibility for coaching Wairarapa"s senior representative side next month, played more than 300 first-class games during a career spanning 22 years, most of them at Nottinghamshire where he was a regular bowling partner of some of the world's best - Sir Richard Hadlee, Clive Rice and Courtney Walsh.

With more than 800 first class wickets at an average of 26 he made a successful transition into coaching, achieving his level three qualification and coaching at Gloucestershire before bringing his family to New Zealand. He was a specialist bowling coach for the Black Caps when they toured England in 2004 under John Bracewell and for the past nine years has been passing on his knowledge to cricketers of all ages and abilities in Southland.

Cooper's job description for Cricket Wairarapa will not only involve the senior reps, he will also coach the Wairarapa under-17 squad and act as mentor for all rep coaches and players. College cricket too will receive the benefit of his expertise as the Wairarapa association works to assist with the development of players at that crucial stage.

The appointment of Cooper continues an overhaul of Wairarapa Cricket administration aimed to raise participation and playing standards throughout the region.

On the development front, Simon Roseingrave has been appointed operations and development manager, filling the void left when Sam Curtis moved to Australia in August. Roseingrave is a familiar face in the Wairarapa cricketing community, having spent countless hours voluntarily coaching young players and leading the successful girls' development programme in the region. He was recognised for his achievements by being named the Sport Wellington Volunteer of the Year for his contribution to junior cricket.

The Wairarapa senior reps will be captained by Greytown's Seth Rance, who has a professional contract with Central Districts for the coming season, having made 11 first class appearances since his debut in 2009. Vice-captain Jamie Holmes will lead the team when Rance is absent. Holmes is fresh from his record-breaking achievements in Northern Ireland club cricket, where he became the first player to score 1000 runs for Carrickfergus. Holmes will also captain Lansdowne club's premier team this season.

Last month's Wairarapa Cricket annual meeting brought the introduction of a new streamlined management board, with chairman Sam Rossiter-Stead working alongside president Mark Elliott, captain Seth Rance and elected members Brian James, Jason Osborne and Margie Holmes.

This new structure followed the development of a new constitution designed to ensure a more efficient governance process for cricket in the Wairarapa region, with an emphasis on continuity made possible by appointments for multiple years.

Rossiter-Stead is delighted with the progress made and is looking forward to significant achievements on and off the field during the forthcoming season as well as the return of first-class cricket to the Queen Elizabeth Park oval.

"There's been a huge amount of hard work put in by so many people over the years to make Wairarapa cricket successful and the new board has a clear plan to ensure that we build on that and increase participation and playing standards in the short, medium and long terms."