Grant Bradburn joins Glamorgan, ending stint as Pakistan head coach

Grant Bradburn will join Glamorgan as head coach next month after signing a three-year deal, which formally brings his brief tenure as Pakistan men’s head coach to an end.

Bradburn took over from Saqlain Mushtaq last year and oversaw Test series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, as well as the 50-over World Cup in India. He worked in conjunction with Mickey Arthur, who juggled his position as Derbyshire’s coach with a part-time role as Pakistan’s team director.

After Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, both Bradburn and Arthur were in limbo. The PCB’s temporary management committee lacked the authority to relieve them from their duties, but neither Arthur nor Bradburn travelled with the team for their recent Test tour of Australia, with Mohammad Hafeez instead acting as team director.

But Bradburn has now left the PCB, having initially joined as an assistant coach in 2018 before becoming head of high-performance coaching in 2020. “Time to close the amazing chapter that has been Pakistan cricket,” he posted on social media. “Three roles over five years, I am proud of what’s been achieved and grateful to have worked with so many outstanding players, coaches and staff.”

He will start his new role at Glamorgan next month, taking charge of the Welsh county across formats after an attempt at splitting the role lasted a single year. Mark Alleyne, who acted as white-ball coach but only took charge in the T20 Blast, is expected to remain part of Bradburn’s coaching staff, while Matthew Maynard left his role as red-ball coach at the end of last season.

Glamorgan underachieved in all formats last year, finishing fifth in Division Two of the County Championship and failing to qualify for the knockout stages of either white-ball competition. Among Bradburn’s first tasks will be to appoint a new captain, with the most recent incumbent David Lloyd joining Arthur at Derbyshire this winter.

“To have the opportunity to coach Glamorgan is a huge honour and a privilege,” Bradburn said in a press release. “My simple aim is to create a winning environment with an awesome culture. Together, we will quickly identify a brand of cricket in all formats that most importantly inspires the players and, in turn, attracts everyone within the club to be excited and proud of our teams.

“With international experience and a passion for developing players and staff, I am really looking forward to immersing myself alongside our Glamorgan network of coaches to develop quality players within our programmes. I will bring fresh eyes which I believe will be healthy for the club.

“I’m not taking this role expecting just to compete in the County Championship. I will bring a desire for Glamorgan to be contenders in all formats and am looking forward to meeting everyone at the club soon.”

Mark Wallace, Glamorgan’s director of cricket, said that he was “delighted” that Bradburn had signed a three-year deal. “He has a wide range of experience as a coach and right across high performance, and will add a great amount to the club from top to bottom,” he said.