Julian Wood (left) with Jonty Rhodes.
Basingstoke & North Hants cricket coach Julian Wood, the power-hitting specialist, has signed a lucrative contract to join Punjab Kings as their batting consultant for the upcoming Indian Premier League campaign.
It will be the former Hampshire and Berkshire left-hander’s first assignment with an IPL team, although he has previously been involved with various franchises in the BBL, the CPL and other T20 tournaments around the world apart from working along with England and Australia’s national teams.
Wood baptism of IPL fire comes next weekend when the Punjab Kings play Royal Challengers Bangalore at the 55,000 DY Patel Stadium in Maharashtra.
RCB are captained by former South Africa Test skipper Faf du Plessis and include Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell in their squad.
The 53-year-old will work on the Punjab batters under the direction of the legendary Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble, the Kings head coach, and alongside former South Africa fielding ace Jonty Rhodes.
Punjab badly need a turnaround in their fortunes, having finished 6th out of 8 teams in the past three seasons. Their only final appearance came in 2014.
“We are one of the smaller IPL franchises but Kings’ spent the most in this year’s auction. I believe they bought smartly. Time will tell but I’m excited about what I’ve seen so far.
“Can I make a difference? I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t!
Wood explained that he had been involved in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) a couple of months ago and enjoyed some good media coverage over there.
Biggest stage
“Jonty messaged me asking if I’d been signed up by any IPL franchises. The conversation evolved from there. I agreed terms with them a couple of weeks ago prior to arriving in Mumbai last week.
“As a coach you want to work on the biggest stage with the best players – and it doesn’t get much bigger than the IPL!!
“Luckily, I’ve worked with the likes of Liam Livingston and Jonny Bairstow when was with England, so there’s a relationship already there, which makes it easier.
“My role is ‘batting consultant’ with an emphasis on Power Hitting. These guys can all play, they don’t need batting coaches. They need someone who offers something a bit different!
Staying still and hitting the ball out of the park comes to mind.
Wood previously worked with Ben Stokes, Sam Billings and Carlos Brathwaite and now, as well as Bairstow and Livingstone, he’ll be with India Test opener Mayank Agarwal, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow and Shahrukh Khan
The Punjab franchise, who believe they had a fairly successful auction, confirmed hat Wood had been on the team’s radar for the last couple of years but they were unable to acquire his services.
“We wanted him earlier but it did not materialise. We were tracking his work for the past two years and he teaches a must have skill to the batters,” said a Punjab Kings team source.
“We too have a bunch of power-hitters in the squad and they can also pick the brain of someone like Wood. It was Jonty Rhodes who first spotted him and we are happy to have him on board.”
It will be the former Hampshire and Berkshire left-hander’s first assignment with an IPL team, although he has previously been involved with various franchises in the BBL, the CPL and other T20 tournaments around the world apart from working along with England and Australia’s national teams.
Wood baptism of IPL fire comes next weekend when the Punjab Kings play Royal Challengers Bangalore at the 55,000 DY Patel Stadium in Maharashtra.
RCB are captained by former South Africa Test skipper Faf du Plessis and include Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell in their squad.
The 53-year-old will work on the Punjab batters under the direction of the legendary Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble, the Kings head coach, and alongside former South Africa fielding ace Jonty Rhodes.
Punjab badly need a turnaround in their fortunes, having finished 6th out of 8 teams in the past three seasons. Their only final appearance came in 2014.
“We are one of the smaller IPL franchises but Kings’ spent the most in this year’s auction. I believe they bought smartly. Time will tell but I’m excited about what I’ve seen so far.
“Can I make a difference? I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t!
Wood explained that he had been involved in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) a couple of months ago and enjoyed some good media coverage over there.
Biggest stage
“Jonty messaged me asking if I’d been signed up by any IPL franchises. The conversation evolved from there. I agreed terms with them a couple of weeks ago prior to arriving in Mumbai last week.
“As a coach you want to work on the biggest stage with the best players – and it doesn’t get much bigger than the IPL!!
“Luckily, I’ve worked with the likes of Liam Livingston and Jonny Bairstow when was with England, so there’s a relationship already there, which makes it easier.
“My role is ‘batting consultant’ with an emphasis on Power Hitting. These guys can all play, they don’t need batting coaches. They need someone who offers something a bit different!
Staying still and hitting the ball out of the park comes to mind.
Wood previously worked with Ben Stokes, Sam Billings and Carlos Brathwaite and now, as well as Bairstow and Livingstone, he’ll be with India Test opener Mayank Agarwal, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow and Shahrukh Khan
The Punjab franchise, who believe they had a fairly successful auction, confirmed hat Wood had been on the team’s radar for the last couple of years but they were unable to acquire his services.
“We wanted him earlier but it did not materialise. We were tracking his work for the past two years and he teaches a must have skill to the batters,” said a Punjab Kings team source.
“We too have a bunch of power-hitters in the squad and they can also pick the brain of someone like Wood. It was Jonty Rhodes who first spotted him and we are happy to have him on board.”
