Cricket Wellington is pleased to announce the appointment of Christian Thurston as Community Manager for Coaching and Diversity.

Christian will lead the development of Cricket Wellington’s Coach Development Plan with a focus on the recruitment, education and retention of community coaches, as well as the overall strategic direction for coaching in Wellington.

He will also manage the Cricket Wellington Diversity and Inclusion strategy, which will broaden engagement with the wider Wellington community and help ensure that cricket is accessible to everyone. This will include continuing Cricket Wellington’s relationship with its official charity partner Wellington City Mission and building on its refugee initiatives with the ChangeMakers Resettlement Forum.

“I’m really excited to be on board with Cricket Wellington and helping develop and lead the coaching and diversity portfolios in the region,” he said.

“Cricket Wellington is already doing a great job in the coaching space and I’m looking forward helping support and educate our coaches so that we can continue to grow the game here in the Capital.

“I want to make sure that as an organisation we are doing everything we can to ensure cricket continues to be a game that everyone can play and enjoy and that in itself is a really exciting role to be leading.”

Christian returns to New Zealand to join Cricket Wellington from America where he has lived and worked for the last six years in the music industry. Prior to his move overseas he played representative cricket in Rotorua.

Cricket Wellington Head of Community Cricket Matt Wills said the appointment of a community manager with a specific focus on coaching, inclusion and diversity further reflected Cricket Wellington’s commitment to developing its coaches and to making cricket a game for all.

“The importance of educating and developing our cricket coaches cannot be understated and with Christian on board we’re looking forward to growing and improving the quality of our coach force here in Wellington,” he said.

“We want everyone who picks up a bat or ball to have access to coaching to help them develop their skills and find genuine joy in playing cricket.

“Cricket is a game for all and Christian’s specific focus on inclusion and diversity will help us continue to lead plans and initiatives to ensure cricket is accessible to everyone.”

Christian can be contacted at christian@cricketwellington.co.nz and on 027 463 2439.

Article added: Thursday 01 July 2021