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Wade's winning hand to guide rising Bulls

Wicketkeeping legend has five Shield titles to call upon as he begins his tenure in charge at Queensland

Wade Seccombe will address his players for the first time as Queensland head coach this weekend, and while he acknowledges there's plenty he's set to learn in the coming years, he's in zero doubt as to his remit in his new post.

"Teach them how to win."


Seccombe is seasoned in the art.

A Bulls legend, he was behind the stumps when Stuart Law's team ended a 68-year drought with the state's maiden Sheffield Shield title in 1994-95.

And he played a vital role in the subsequent bursting of the dam, as another title followed two summers later, and a threepeat closed out the 20th century and took Queensland into the 21st as the country's dominant cricket force.

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Five titles. And around 500 catches (depending on whose records you subscribe to).

It's a hell of a lot of success and experience.

And positively for Queensland, Seccombe is reminded of the past when he sees the future of the Bulls.


"This current group reminds me of a couple of eras in the past of Queensland cricket, where we had some really, really talented young guys and we also had some senior guys to lead them along," he told cricket.com.au.

"So the attraction in this group is the talent we've got.

"And they've already played a bit of first-class cricket, so they have that little bit of experience, they understand what it's about.

"I really think it's a very exciting time for Queensland cricket, because of the talent running around in Australia, we've got a lot of it right now.

"I think a lot of them are just ready to absolutely shine."

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The Bulls reached the final of last year's Matador BBQs One-Day Cup but failed to do the business when it came to the Shield, winning four of 10 matches to finish second-last.

The previous season, they won one more match, and finished one place higher in fourth – the same spot they'd wound up the two summers before that, as well.

No final appearance in four seasons, no silverware in five.

And a shift of power to the south (Victoria have won the past three Shield titles, NSW the one before that) which would not sit comfortably with anyone bearing allegiance to the land on Seccombe's side of the Tweed.

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The new coach concedes that while talk of promise and talent is one thing, winning is quite another.

"You have to learn how to win, and my understanding of coaching is that my job is to teach them how to win," says the 45-year-old, who was assistant to Darren Lehmann at Queensland in 2011-12.

"Everything we're doing is about performance, and team performance.

"As for the culture we build, we'll wait and see.

"That's a process that takes time but one thing for sure is we're going to set high standards for ourselves and we're going to maintain them as best we can.

"I want to improve on a week to week (basis).

"We'll have processes in place where we want to keep ticking things off. Whether we win or not, I'm not sure, but we're going to be improving, and if we follow our processes, we're going to win more games than we don't."

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That in itself would mark an improvement on the past four seasons, and there's little doubt that Seccombe's assessment of this young Queensland group boasting outstanding talent is an accurate one.

That's been borne out to varying degrees already, most notably through the Australia and Australia A selections of the likes of Matt Renshaw, Joe Burns, Mitch Swepson, Billy Stanlake, Sam Heazlett and Jack Wildermuth.

And while the presence of captain Usman Khawaja will likely be dictated by the left-hander's fortunes at the table of the national selection panel, Seccombe would dearly love to be able to call upon a fully fit Chris Lynn for a full summer of action – something that has eluded the 27-year-old for the past four years.

For while Lynn's reputation has been built on his startling ability to send balls flying into the outer reaches of a packed-out Gabba at the height of a Big Bash summer, the right-hander's first-class numbers also make for impressive reading: 41 matches, six hundreds, 12 fifties, average 43.53.

"It would be wonderful (to have Lynn fit)," Seccombe said.

"He's gone from strength to strength in the last 12-18 months and he's gained a lot of experience in different conditions along the way.

"And the more exposure our young group can get around a senior player like that, the better."

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Also benefiting his young charges will be the experience and quality of his support staff, which Seccombe enthusiastically labelled "as good as any in Australia" and includes fellow Bulls greats Andy Bichel, James Hopes, Ashley Noffke in assistant coaching roles, and Martin Love as physiotherapist.

"The good thing there is I've worked with each of these guys, they're mates of mine, and we all know each other's strengths and weaknesses," he added. "So I've inherited a quality team and also a fantastic support structure."

Next stop for Seccombe is Tangalooma, an island off the coast of Brisbane where he'll link up with his players and support staff from Friday afternoon at what is essentially serving as a high-performance exercise for the squad.

Because his tenure hasn't yet officially begun, his presence will largely be limited to that of an observer, reacquainting himself with players and meeting those he isn't already familiar with, before addressing the group for the first time.

At which point he'll discuss the art of winning, and begin putting the building blocks in place.