Now that his playing days are gone, T20 specialist Dan Christian wants to build a name for himself as a coach. The 39-year-old revealed his retirement intentions last month and played his last professional cricket game at the SCG on Thursday night when the Brisbane Heat defeated his Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash finals.
Dan Christian played 409 games of T20 cricket for 18 different teams in six different nations, and he represented Australia 43 times in white-ball cricket. Before his farewell game, both sides gathered to honor Dan Christian, who was unable to commemorate the occasion with fireworks on a slow SCG surface, being dismissed for seven by Spencer Johnson just as the Sixers’ innings began to unravel.
Dan Christian’s eyes on a coaching career
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He was also not allowed the opportunity to throw his arm over, although he did capture Heat captain Jimmy Peirson off the bowling of fellow veteran Steve O’Keefe. Dan Christian revealed that his motivation to exercise had faded this summer, but following the Heat defeat, he said that he had no intention of abandoning the game entirely. “I’m not queuing up for a nine-to-five job,” he told reporters.
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“I’ll probably put my hand up someplace and look for a (coaching) job.” Dan Christian had his first experience coaching at last year’s T20 World Cup when he and former South Africa coach Gary Kirsten were the Netherlands’ big acquisitions for the Australian-based competition. He said that taking on leadership positions as a player solidified his desire to coach. “I’ve really liked being an experienced player and being able to assist the younger players in any way I can, whether it’s with tactics or with any sort of experience that I’ve had,” Dan Christian said.
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“I think coaching is the same thing as playing, but without the pressure of needing to perform on the field.” Dan Christian’s professional ambitions were supported by Sixers captain Moises Henriques, who advised his former colleague to take time to relax in retirement first. “He’ll be missed for sure, but perhaps we’ll be able to keep him engaged in some form,” Henriques added.
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He’s the sort of man who should be fine with everything he sets his mind to. “I just hope he enjoys the next chapter of his life and doesn’t rush into it. He’s been playing cricket for a long time, so ideally it’ll be six months of golf someplace, just enjoying it, getting his handicap even down, and then he can worry about work.”
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