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Griffith appointed as Tasmania coach

Tigers unveil Sheffield Shield-winning quick and WA assistant as Dan Marsh's replacement

Former Tigers paceman Adam Griffith has been appointed head coach of his former side on a three-year contract after he was unanimously recommended by a panel reviewing the high-performance wing of Cricket Tasmania.

A member of the Tigers' historic 2006-07 Sheffield Shield-winning side, Griffith was announced as Tasmania’s new coach on Thursday.

The 39-year-old replaces Dan Marsh who sacked in February, with Richard Allanby having filled in for the remained of the season.

Griffith has served under Justin Langer in Western Australia since 2012 as the Warriors bowling coach. This will be his first head coaching role.

He also joined Langer on Australia’s one-day international tri-series against the West Indies and South Africa in the Caribbean last year, filling in as a bowling mentor with the national side.

Image Id: 6400C48C7FAF433480B5F2D7AB193E3A Image Caption: Griffith (second from left) celebrates Tasmania's 2006-07 Shield title // Getty

"It's a privilege to have been given this opportunity by Cricket Tasmania," Griffith said in a statement.

"I have really enjoyed my time at the WACA and sincerely thank them for giving me my start in coaching and helping me develop as a coach.

"I am now looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and I will be working hard to bring success to the Tasmanian Tigers as well as working towards more national representation."

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In February, Langer endorsed Griffith for a head-coaching position but stressed the numerous challenges that come with being at the helm.

"He’s very well prepared," the Warriors coach said of his then-assistant. "If we lost him it’d be a big loss.

"You don’t know if you’re ready until you do it. He ticks a lot of boxes, but it’s not until you get into the cauldron (that you know if you’re ready).

"When you’re an assistant coach, it’s the best job in the world. You’re everyone’s best mate, you’ve got not much accountability and you don’t work that much.

"When you become head coach, no one likes you. You’ve got 100 per cent accountability and you work long hours.

"Until you get into the cauldron and you start doing it, you don’t know if you’re ready. But he certainly ticks enough boxes to be ready."

Image Id: 53C33CA4059C42EB8328DE90AE33048F Image Caption: Griffith helped Tasmania to the 2004-05 domestic one-day title // Getty

The appointment comes as former Test batsman Mike Hussey leads an independent review into the state’s high-performance programs.

The Tigers finished the Sheffield Shield season in last position, and failed to make the finals of the Matador One-Day Cup last October.

Prior to the current summer, they finished in the bottom two of the Shield in each of Marsh's three seasons in charge and they also missed the finals of the one-day competition on four consecutive occasions.

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There’s also been change in recent months at the Apple Isle’s KFC Big Bash League franchise, the Hobart Hurricanes. Former South Africa opener Gary Kirsten was appointed to replace Damien Wright as coach of the struggling side, who have missed the finals of the past three BBL tournaments.

Cricket Tasmania announced on Wednesday they will part ways completely with Wright, who had been the Tigers’ bowling coach, while general manager of cricket Andrew Dykes had been redundant under "significant changes” to the high-performance structure.

The governing body's chairman Andrew Gaggin said there had been numerous qualified candidates to take on the head role with the Tigers, but Griffith was the standout.

"Adam was the unanimous recommendation of the panel from a number of very strong candidates and the Board had no hesitation in accepting and endorsing that recommendation," Gaggin said.

"The Board looks forward to working with Adam in the next phase of Tasmanian cricket and we congratulate him on his new role."