‘Player-centric' coach all about helping Sparks fulfil potential

Otago Daily Times

2 days ago

Gareth Davies looks forward to his first season coaching the Otago Sparks. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN
"They pull the scrums off it, right?"
New Otago Sparks coach Gareth Davies is very happy with his new office.
The University Oval looked like a picture when he arrived, even if a chunk of it was covered by a white blanket of frost.
He knows cricket has to share the venue with rugby. The goalposts at each end are a bit of a clue.
But the 32-year-old Welshman was a little concerned for the welfare of the pitch block and the potential damage burly men and women in boots could do to it.
Welcome to Dunedin. Things are done a little differently here.
Davies has already come to appreciate many of the things the community has to offer since arriving two weeks ago.
The coffee is high on his list. He has enjoyed countless cups while getting to know his new charges and colleagues.
"Everyone in the organisation has been class so far," he said.
"And so welcoming.
"It's pretty daunting coming across from Wales to the other side of the world ... especially when you don't know many people.
"But honestly, welcome arms, open arms, it's been so good."
Davies, who has signed a two-year deal, is not a stranger to some of the players.
He worked with the White Ferns on their tour of the UK last year, so he got to know Suzie Bates and Eden Carson, and worked with Polly Inglis when she was based in the United Kingdom.
Davies studied in Cardiff and played some "second XI cricket for Glamorgan and Wales minor counties".
He spent "three or four" seasons in Australia where he learned "a heck of a lot about cricket, life, and how the world works".
It toughened him up, he said.
When he returned to the UK, he landed an opportunity within performance analysis at Warwickshire County Cricket Club.
Davies had a long stint with Worcestershire Women as an assistant and then a head coach.
He also worked alongside White Ferns coach Ben Sawyer at the Birmingham Phoenix and did two years with them.
It is an impressive resume, and he has "committed fully" to making it work.
During the tenure of Craig Cumming, whom Davies has replaced, the Sparks won three one-day titles and made two T20 finals. It is a hard act to follow.
"Yeah, but it's exciting as well.
"We've got boots to fill in terms of trophies, but I also see there's a lot of potential to develop White Ferns.
"And that was another massive part of this job and the draw for me to come here."
His role, as he sees it, is to remove obstacles so "there's nothing stopping them going and achieving their dreams".
That drives his whole coaching philosophy.
"So I'm very player-centric. The person comes first.
"I understand that there's, especially here, a holistic approach. There's a lot more that goes on than just the cricket, especially with the seven-month contracts.
"There's a lot of stuff that goes in the rest of the time in that five months.
"So just understanding the person, making sure that they've got what they want, and that allows me then to push them in the right direction that I think that they need to go in and I'll get the best out of them.
"And then there's a lot built on trust.
"I think we need to be a very self-aware group ... and be courageous [about] having tough conversations with each other.
"That's something that I will really push within the group and not just become coach-dependent every time and all the time, because ultimately they're out in the middle on their own and have to make a decision by themselves.
"That's something that I want to try and create. That resilience cricketer, the robust cricketer and someone who aspires to go to the next level."
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