Image: Newly appointed CMCC Head Coach, Ian Stanger (left), with CMCC Head of Cricket Operations, Barry Russ.
The Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club (CMCC) is pleased to announce the signing of Ian Stanger as the Club’s Senior Head Coach for the 2020-21 season.
Stanger arrives at the Camberwell Magpies with a wealth of experience in playing and coaching at both the elite and Premier cricket level. Hailing from Scotland, Stanger represented his country on five occasions at One Day International level; four of which came at the 1999 World Cup in England.
After debuting in 1992, his List A career spanned 14 years and encompassed 77 matches for Scotland, Leicestershire and Durham. He also notched up seven first-class matches in this time before finishing up with professional cricket in 2006.
Upon moving to Australia in 2008, Stanger resumed his playing career in Western Australian Premier Cricket before fulfilling a number of captaincy and coaching roles in the WACA and New South Wales Premier cricket competitions.
At the helm of Claremont-Nedlands CC in Western Australia in 2012, Stanger led the club to an unprecedented period of success to the point where they continue to be one of the competition powerhouses to this day.
CMCC Head of Cricket Operations, Barry Russ, said the Club was delighted to secure the signature of Stanger to lead the Magpies into the next chapter of the Club’s history. “We’re extremely excited to welcome Ian onboard as the Camberwell Magpies’ 13th Head Coach,” Russ said.
“Ian arrives at our club with a wealth of experience and demonstrated success at various levels within the elite cricket pathway. With a talented playing list at his disposal, we hope Ian will be able to replicate his coaching achievements from other clubs here with us at Camberwell.
“The Club undertook an extensive search for a new Head Coach following Brad Loveluck’s decision to stand down at the end of the 2019/20 season. Brad has elected to take a year off coaching this season to refresh and reinvigorate himself after seven consecutive years coaching at Premier level both here at the Camberwell Magpies and in Tasmania.
“We wish Brad all the very best for his future endeavours and acknowledge the wonderful contribution he made as our Head Coach for the previous two seasons.
“We’re obviously living in unprecedented times at the moment and there is a degree of uncertainty around what the future holds in terms of the next few months leading into the season proper, so having someone with Ian’s experience and knowledge of the game to guide us through this preseason period and beyond will be extremely important.
“On behalf of all members of the Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club, we wish Ian all the best with his task of taking the Magpies to our ultimate goal of premiership glory.”
After some time away from the sport, Stanger said he looked forward to taking on the challenge of leading the Magpies back up the Victorian Premier Cricket ladder.
“It's great to be back in premier cricket and I'm relishing the challenge at Camberwell following a break from the game which has revived my passion for coaching,” Stanger said.
“Victorian grade cricket is new territory for me but I hope to bring some fresh perspectives to the Club following coaching spells in Sydney and Perth. I'm looking forward to working with a new set of players, including Andrew Fekete who has retired from first class cricket and is leading the Club as first grade skipper.
“When players finish their professional careers, they often leave the game altogether so to have Andrew at the helm for a season or two is a terrific boost for the Club's prospects in the league and will help with the learning curve for players with aspirations to reach the next level.”
Acknowledging the unique environment in which he steps into the CMCC head coaching role, Stanger said the COVID-19 pandemic had provided a number of early challenges in regards to preseason training, but added the playing group was responding well to the individual strength and conditioning programs provided to them while group training remains off the cards.
“Obviously, this is a year when human health and wellbeing is in sharp focus and we are all able to help the public health response,” Stanger said.
“When you look at winter sports around Australia, many have been cancelled and the goal for our sport right now is to ensure it gets underway safely this summer. This season will be as much about protecting our sport, supporting community clubs as they emerge from a difficult winter and rediscovering our enjoyment for the great game.”
The Club will now turn its attention to finalising the rest of its coaching and cricket department structure and will have more to announce on this in the coming weeks.
Please stay tuned for a release of our new Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club website within the next week and make sure you are following us on socials Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.