Suffolk will have a new coach and a new professional for the 2008 Minor Counties season. NICK GARNHAM went along to meet Paul Jarvis and Hassan AdnanNEW Suffolk coach Paul Jarvis will underline his commitment to the job by moving to Suffolk during the cricket season.

Nick Garnham

Suffolk will have a new coach and a new professional for the 2008 Minor Counties season. NICK GARNHAM went along to meet Paul Jarvis and Hassan Adnan

NEW Suffolk coach Paul Jarvis will underline his commitment to the job by moving to Suffolk during the cricket season.

The former England fast bowler, who succeeds Andy Brown as coach to the Minor Counties side, owns two properties in Ipswich with wife Caroline, whose parents live in the Woodbridge area.

Jarvis, who now works as a property developer, said that he will be based in Ipswich for the forthcoming season when he will run the county team alongside director of cricket Kevin Brook and captain Phil Caley.

Jarvis, who met his new charges at an indoor net session at Ipswich School on Sunday, said: “Caroline lived most of her childhood in Suffolk as her parents have lived here for more than 30 years.

“Over the last three years we have been coming to Suffolk quite a bit and I really like the place. It was not a county that I knew as when I was playing cricket I used to come to Southend and Colchester to play against Essex, but Suffolk was not on the radar.

“But in the last few years I have had the opportunity to come here and been surprised by low lovely this part of the country is,” added the former Yorkshire, Sussex and Somerset bowler.

Jarvis, whose first-class career ended in 2002, carried on playing club cricket up until two years ago, and turned out a couple of times for Sudbury in the Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship 2006.

The 42-year-old explained: “When I finished playing for Somerset I was working for an IT company called Northgate in Hemel Hempstead and got to know Louis Brooks, who played for Sudbury, through that.”

Jarvis was captain and head coach of West of England Premier Two side Lansdown in Bath, where he lives, and is in the process of completing the latest version of the Level 3 coaching award, which he initially achieved in 1992.

He just missed out on the post of Essex bowling coach which went to Graeme Welch, the former Warwickshire and Derbyshire all-rounder.

“The job of Essex bowling coach came up which I really fancied doing, but I came second in that particular race. Then this opportunity came along through Essex coach Paul Grayson speaking to Kevin Brooks, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get involved with elite cricketers, which is where I would like to be.

“I enjoy all sorts of cricket coaching but feel my skills will be better served coaching better performing players.”

Jarvis is aware that Brown, who spent seven successful years as Suffolk coach before taking up a coaching role with Derbyshire, will be a hard act to follow.

“I played against Andy when he was previously at Derbyshire and I know he did a great job for Suffolk. He will be a hard act to follow, but I hope to be able to continue the good work that he achieved.

“Kevin Brooks said to me that no team has successfully defended the one-day trophy that Suffolk won last season, so it would be a great achievement to go back to Lord's and win that again, plus we will be looking to get through to the final of the three-day competition as well.

“As coach my job will be to ensure that the players stay focused, and if I can help them improve by five or ten per cent each then the team is going to benefit.

“Hopefully I can give the players the opportunity to move their careers on, especially the younger players who want to step up to the first-class game.

“Over the last five or six years it has become harder to get on to a county staff due to the number of overseas and Kolpak players because there are less restrictions now on who you can and can't sign.

“Most counties have reduced their staffs to offset that bigger wage bill, so more players are using Minor Counties cricket as a means to get into the first-class game.”

As for himself Jarvis is not sure where his involvement with Suffolk will take him.

“At the moment I am a property developer which I enjoy doing. I see this as a personal exercise for myself in trying to help others and Suffolk to keep up the good work, and we will see if anything further comes from it.”