Chris Rogers comes 'full circle' in being named Victoria head coach
Chris Rogers, the former Australia batsman, has been named head coach of the Victoria men's team.
Rogers, who scored over 25,000 first-class runs and appeared in 25 Tests, played seven seasons for Victoria and won two Sheffield Shield titles with the state.
He fills the role vacated by Andrew McDonald's move into the Australia set-up as Justin Langer's assistant coach. His deal runs until the end of the 2022 season.
Rogers was appointed to Cricket Australia's high performance team in early 2018 where he undertook had a variety of roles including head coach of the Australian Under-19 team for the World Cup earlier this year.
"I'm really excited about the job and I'd like to thank Cricket Victoria for the opportunity. It feels a bit like I've come full circle in playing for Victoria for seven years and now coming back into the fold as the senior coach," Rogers said.
"I'm looking forward to working with this talented squad of players and coaches. I've been lucky enough to work with many of the Victorian players in recent years and I look forward to working with them to achieve individual and team success."
"Due to the impact of coronavirus, we know this season will come with some very new challenges for us, but we'll continue to prepare as best we can and come ready to play when the time is right."
Rogers was preferred ahead of Brad Hodge in the final running for the position. The recruitment process included Cricket Victoria's general manager of Cricket Shaun Graf, Victoria captains Peter Handscomb and Meg Lanning, Cricket Victoria CEO Andrew Ingleton and former Victoria coach Greg Shipperd.
"I've known Chris a long time now having been involved with his initial recruitment from WA," Graf said. "His desire to get the best out of the talent he was given will hold him in good stead as he prepares our young talented squad for the challenging season ahead.
"He's worked extensively with elite talent throughout the CA pathway system and has shown an ability to improve and develop players for the long-term. On the field he was an extremely gritty competitor, we know he'll bring that determination and resilience into the squad."