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Rejuvenating the Edgbaston academy is a prime target as an old favourite returns to Birmingham
Graeme Welch had a difficult time at Derbyshire • Getty Images
Graeme Welch is rejoining Warwickshire as bowling coach after losing out on the same role with England to Essex’s Chris Silverwood.
Welch served as bowling coach at Edgbaston for four years from January 2010, during which time the club won the County Championship title in 2012 and the Clydesdale Bank 40 in 2010.
He left the club in 2014 to take up a role as elite performance director at Derbyshire but when that did not work out he subsequently moved to Leicestershire as assistant coach in September 2016 only for them to finish bottom of Division Two in the Championship.
Welch’s reputation as a bowling coach remains unblemished, however, and Warwickshire were quick to hail his return as the next step in a coaching reshuffle that saw Alan Richardson released from the role last month.
Ashley Giles, sport director at Warwickshire, said: “Graeme Welch is an outstanding bowling coach who was part of an excellent coaching team that delivered trophies at Edgbaston.
“In our view he is one of the very best bowling coaches in the game and it came as no surprise to us when he was recently connected with the position of England bowling coach.
“We are delighted that he has chosen to return to Edgbaston where he will not only be responsible for getting the first team back to winning ways but also building a bowling academy equipped to develop a new generation of bowlers, from all backgrounds, capable of delivering continued success in all formats for Warwickshire and the Birmingham Bears.”
Welch said: “I have enjoyed my time at Leicestershire, but the chance to return to Edgbaston was one I could not turn down. I have been lucky enough to be part of successful Bears teams in the past as both player and coach and am very excited by the challenge of building a bowling academy which will bring success to the club on a sustained basis.”
Leicestershire responded quickly to fill the vacancy, appointing John Sadler, who initially rejoined them as Second XI Coach last winter before taking charge of first team affairs alongside Graeme Welch for the final three matches of the 2017 season. Sadler and Paul Nixon, Leicestershire’s new coach, played in the same Foxes side and were both key members of the team that in the early years had the most successful record in the country.
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