Harare, Sep 22 (IANS): Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) on Thursday confirmed the appointment of Englishman Steve Kirby as the new bowling coach of Zimbabwe men's team.

Kirby, who was English county side Somerset's bowling coach, is expected to join Zimbabwe side ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 that starts in Australia next month.

Kirby, a former first-class cricketer who played for Somerset between 2011 and 2014 apart from being part of Leicestershire, Gloucestershire and Yorkshire as a player, had re-joined the Club as a coach ahead of the 2021 season. The 44-year-old also worked alongside current Zimbabwe Head Coach Dave Houghton at Derbyshire.

"I've got aspirations to be the very best coach that I can be, and international cricket is something that I really want to be involved with. I've worked really well with Dave Houghton previously when we were at Derbyshire and when this position presented itself, I felt that I couldn't turn it down."

"The scale of the role is hugely exciting because I won't just be working with the national XI, but I'll also be involved with the whole pathway structure across the country," said Kirby on his new role.

Zimbabwe, who qualified for Men's T20 World Cup after winning the qualification event at Bulawayo in July this year, are part of Group B in the First round alongside Ireland, West Indies and Scotland.

They begin their campaign against Ireland on October 17 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. Zimbabwe are also scheduled to face Sri Lanka and Namibia in official warm-up matches on October 10 and 13 ahead of the main tournament starting from October 16.

"We are delighted to confirm Steve as our Bowling Coach for the senior men's team. He has done incredibly well as a player and coach in county cricket over the years and, as we seek to continue strengthening all facets of our game and improving our performances at the highest level, we count ourselves privileged and fortunate to have him as part of our technical set-up," said Hamilton Masakadza, Director of Cricket, ZC.