Adam Hollioake, legendary former Surrey captain, has been appointed Kent’s new head coach on a three-year contract that will keep him at Canterbury until at least the end of the 2027 season.
He will take over from Matt Walker, who stepped down in September after eight years in the role, with Kent relegated from Division One of the County Championship, as well as finishing last in the South Group of the Vitality Blast.
Hollioake, 53, has had limited coaching experience since retiring from the game in 2007, but forged a reputation as an inspirational leader during his time at Surrey, which he guided to seven trophies, including three County Championships, between 1996 and 2003.
He played four Tests for England between 1997 and 1998, as well as 35 ODIs in which his temporary role as captain led to a famous tournament win in Sharjah in 1997-98. His tactical acumen is widely regarded as cutting edge for his time, and he was seen as the man who would lead England to the 1999 World Cup, in which he also played.
Hollioake’s career was blighted by tragedy when his brother Ben died in a car accident in March 2002, and he walked away from cricket after retiring. After moving to Queensland in 2004, he set up a property company, but was soon forced to declare bankruptcy and later embarked on a brief career as a cage fighter.
After coaching Hong Kong to the ACC Trophy in 2000, he returned to cricket in 2017 as head coach of the Boost Defenders in the Afghan Shpageeza Cricket League, a role he chose to retain even after a fatal bomb explosion outside the Kabul ground where his team was playing.
This will be the first major head coaching role for Hollioake, but he served as assistant coach at Surrey in 2024, having previously worked as batting coach for Pakistan, Queensland and England Lions. He had been lined up by his former Surrey teammate Graham Thorpe to join the England coaching line-up during the 2021-22 Ashes, but was ruled out after a close contact tested positive at Covid.
‘I am honoured to have been appointed head coach of Kent,’ Hollioake said. ‘It is an incredible opportunity for me to work with a great team of players and to be involved in a county with such a rich history of success.
‘County Cricket is something I hold very close to my heart and this is an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.’
Kent’s Director of Cricket, Simon Cook, said: ‘Adam has demonstrated throughout his playing and coaching career that he has exceptional leadership qualities and a winning mentality, something that was instrumental in our decision to move in a new direction following our solid and thorough search for a new head men’s coach.
‘We welcome Adam to the Kent Cricket family and look forward to seeing him lead our men’s team at the start of the new season.’
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