David Furlonge is the new coach of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force senior men’s cricket team.

The 62-year-old former national cricketer who was a member of the T&T team, captained by Rangy Nanan, which won the regional four-day title in 1975 was selected by a panel from a list of ten impressive candidates who participated in the interview process.Furlonge is a long-serving head coach of the Queen’s Park Cricket Club was the manager/assistant coach of the Red Force team last season, which finished runners-up to Barbados in the aborted Cricket West Indies regional tournament.

In a media release on Monday, the TTCB expressed its appreciation for the services of outgoing national coach Mervyn Dillon, whose one-year contract ended last April 30 and wished him well in his future endeavours.
The cricket board also thanked the candidates for their keen interest shown in responding to their invitation.
The TTCB stated it was satisfied with the integrity, transparency and accountability of the process used for the first time to select a national senior men’s team coach which involved an advertisement in the media inviting candidates for the position.

A panel appointed by the TTCB initially received a list of 18 applications which was later reduced to ten through seven withdrawals and one failure to respond before the stipulated deadline.
In naming Furlonge, the panel noted his excellent leadership qualities; an astute knowledge of all aspects of the game; a familiarity of the technological tools to improve the national team; a visionary plan for the immediate future; outstanding communication skills which clearly articulates his mission; and impeccable qualifications highlighted by a Cricket Australia Level 3 High-Performance Coaching Certificate.

On Monday, Furlonge said he was elated to be given the opportunity as it was the aspiration of any coach to take charge of the national team. He said he had high expectations of moulding a unit capable of launching a serious challenge in the 2021 regional Super50 Cup to be staged in Antigua and Barbuda in February.
First up on his agenda is a meeting with the TTCB on their shared aims and objectives for the coming regional cricket season especially in the light of the challenges faced by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Furlonge acknowledged that he will have to hit the ground running to maximise the limited time available to work with members of the provisional national squad which has been training under Kelvin Williams, and David Williams, both of whom he expects to meet with shortly.

He said his main concerns are physical fitness and the technical work the squad has been undergoing to identify what was needed to ramp up preparations in the midst of the Christmas season and the impending TTCB 50-Overs competition planned for January, pending the lifting of Government’s Covid-19 regulations by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

Furlonge said he will also meet with the senior men’s national selection panel headed by Rajendra Mangalie and soon after with the national cricketers to formulate a plan going forward and ensure all are the same page.

As the current head coach of the Parkites, which he has been performing for the past decade, in addition to his role as Cricket Administrator, Furlonge said he will officially inform his club of his call to national service before taking up his new job today.

(Extracted from Trinidad Guardian) .