Gary Kirsten steps down as Hobart Hurricanes coach

Gary Kirsten's involvement with Tasmania based Big Bash League franchise Hobart Hurricanes has come to an abrupt end with the South African calling quits on his coaching role after just one season with the side. He will be replaced by Adam Griffith. Kirsten took over from Damien Wright ahead of the 2017/18 BBL and had a fantastic campaign, leading them to only their second final appearance in seven seasons of the tournament.

Kirsten cited personal reasons to end his role over at the Bellerive Oval. "I have made a decision for a specific personal reason to resign from my role as Head Coach of the Hobart Hurricanes," Kirsten said in a statement. "It is an unfortunate circumstance as I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the club.

"I want to thank everyone involved on the Hurricanes Program for their support and hard work, and I wish the players well for the upcoming season. I have no doubt the team will once again be extremely competitive, and under Adam Griffith and George Bailey they will enjoy strong leadership."

Kirsten had a fantastic run with the club and was also credited with the meteoric rise of the likes of Twenty20 sensation Jofra Archer and Australian T20I opener D'Arcy Short as he racked up a record tournament aggregate.

After a few disappointing runs in the tournament, Ricky Ponting and David Boon as members of a Cricket Tasmania panel came up with a plan to bring in Kirsten's coaching services to turn things around, and indeed that happened. He played a huge role in making a side, that was short on star players, and made them one of the most successful sides in the season.

Before that, Kirsten's coaching assignments yielded rather mixed results. He led India to World Cup glory and Test cricket pinnacle but failed to take South Africa to the one goal they have always craved, an ICC tournament victory. Similarly, he was ineffectual for a failing Delhi Daredevils side, but as were the likes of Ricky Ponting and Vivian Richards.

The new Hurricanes coach, Griffith, is also the current coach of the Tasmanian state side and his dual involvement might turn out to be a galvanizing factor as has happened earlier for Justin Langer's Western Australia and Perth Scorchers, getting them success in both the one-day cup competitions and the Big Bash League.