Toby Radford appointed Afghanistan’s batting coach

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Toby Radford as the new batting coach of the national team. Radford replaces Andrew Puttick and is expected to join the squad ahead of Afghanistan’s upcoming three-match T20I series against the West Indies.

Alongside Radford’s appointment, the ACB also named Robert Ahmun as the team’s new strength and conditioning trainer. Both Radford and Ahmun have been appointed on one-year contracts and will link up with the squad before Afghanistan’s final T20I series ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan are scheduled to face the West Indies in a three-match T20I series on January 19, 21 and 22 in Dubai. The series is seen as a key part of the team’s preparations for the global tournament later this year.

Radford is a highly regarded Welsh coach and former first-class cricketer who represented Middlesex and Sussex. An ECB Level 4 certified coach, he brings vast international experience, having previously served as batting coach at Pakistan’s High Performance Centre and as Head of High Performance for the Bangladesh Cricket Board. He was also part of the West Indies coaching staff during their ICC T20 World Cup triumph in 2012.

In domestic cricket, Radford guided Middlesex to a national T20 title in 2008 and later served as head coach of Glamorgan. He is also known as an ECB coach mentor and the author of the popular cricket book Getting to Grips.

Ahmun, an elite strength and conditioning specialist from Wales, most recently served as Head of Performance Science and Medicine at the England and Wales Cricket Board. The ACB said it is now continuing its search for a head coach and a spin bowling coach, with current head coach Jonathan Trott expected to step down after the T20 World Cup.