Giles eyes British Asian resurgence to lift Warwickshire and England

20 January 2017 12:09

Ashley Giles is determined to make the most of untapped resources in the British Asian talent pool as he begins a new era at Edgbaston.

Giles has a broad brief as Warwickshire's sporting director, following his return from two years with Lancashire, and among his most pressing issues is the need to nurture home-grown players.

The Ashes-winning spinner and former England limited-overs coach believes he can help improve player identification and development for the county he previously served on and off the pitch for almost 20 years.

Giles is resuming a successful working partnership with his former team-mate Jim Troughton, the pair also having won the County Championship together as director of cricket and captain respectively in 2012.

They join forces again in elevated roles - Troughton was named Warwickshire's new coach shortly before Giles' return was announced last month - which bring differing responsibilities.

Giles will leave day-to-day leadership of the first team to Troughton - although he will also help to keep an eye on "the sharp end", as he calls it.

Results will matter from the outset, for a county who won last year's Royal London Cup in a nonetheless occasionally unconvincing campaign across the formats.

For Giles, though, it is the medium and long term which will be paramount, and he is confident he has already spotted some of the areas that need improvement, starting with player development.

"It is no criticism of anyone to say we have not always done that well," he said.

"We want to put systems in place to make sure we start to do it very well."

Giles himself, five-time Ashes-winner Ian Bell and current England regular Chris Woakes are evidence that Warwickshire have produced outstanding performers, as might reasonably be expected of a county of their size.

The new boss is convinced more progress can be made, though, not least when it comes to advancing the potential of the many youngsters of Asian descent from the Birmingham area.

There have been successes already, of course, at a club where England all-rounder Moeen Ali began his career before making greater strides after moving to neighbouring Worcestershire.

During his time at Old Trafford, Giles witnessed a dramatic example of what might be possible with the emergence of Haseeb Hameed as a teenage Test opener.

He does not know if there are any players of Hameed's class in Warwickshire's catchment area, but will do all he can to find out.

"It is a resource we have not made the most of," he said. "We have tried but I think we can do it better.

"We should be able to do this - it is an important, untapped resource.

"People need to know there are opportunities and we will support them."

Giles is more than prepared to learn from others - whether colleagues or rivals.

Initiatives employed at Leicestershire by chief executive Wasim Khan, a former Warwickshire team-mate from the 1990s and the first British-born Muslim to play county cricket, will not go unnoticed.

"We'll steal ideas from anyone - that's where we get most of them," Giles said.

He will gauge his success not just by how much Warwickshire benefit, but England too.

"I'd love to sit down with 'Was'. eventually it is about getting more cricketers who can play for England, not just Warwickshire," he said.

"I've always said that - it should be a two-pronged attack. We are not just here sustaining Warwickshire's cricket future, we are here to produce England cricketers.

"Of course, people will rightly be on our back if we are not bringing success to the county, but we can help bring success to the country, too."

Lancashire did just that, on Giles' watch, last year.

Hameed was excelling for England before a broken hand curtailed his tour of India, and although Giles admits his accelerated progress has exceeded his expectations, he has no doubt the Bolton-born batsman will remain at the highest level.

Recalling Hameed's initial selection at the age of 19 last September, Giles admitted: "If I had been given the choice, I might have taken the more cautious option.

"But the decision that was taken was proved right. he is an incredible little player with a very bright future.

"I guess you have to be a bit surprised (that he began so well for England), because of his age and the relatively little amount of first-class cricket he has played.

"But he had already taken so well to that level - so I'd have to say it was perhaps a surprise, but not a shock."

Source: PA