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The ECB has named Ed Barney, who was hired from the
same position with England and Great Britain Hockey, as its replacement for
long-serving Performance Director Mo Bobat.
Prior to taking on his hockey role in 2016, Barney,
41, worked for the ECB as a Talent Identification Scientist from 2010 to 2013.
He oversaw a run of consistent success during this time, which included an
Olympic gold medal for the Great Britain women in Tokyo in 2021 and a
first-ever Commonwealth Games gold for the England women’s team in Birmingham
in 2022.
Barney’s initial tenure at the ECB coincided with that
of his predecessor Bobat, who joined the organisation in 2011 and served for 12
years before taking a new position as director of cricket for Royal Challengers
Bangalore, which he will start in February.
“The opportunity to return to the ECB and take on
the role of Performance Director was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,”
Barney said. “I’m looking forward to building on much of the exceptional
work that is in place, whilst ensuring that the quality of our provision
supports the most talented players to realise their potential, excel on the
world stage and inspire the nation about everything that cricket has to offer.
“It’s been a real honour to lead the performance
team at England and Great Britain Hockey over the past seven years. It has been
very special to see many of the junior teams break through, whilst the senior
programmes have excelled on the world stage with European, Commonwealth Games
and Olympic medals.
“As Performance Director it has been a real
privilege to work with so many exceptional players and colleagues who
day-to-day inspire one another to strive to be better. I want to thank everyone
at England and Great Britain Hockey and look forward to following their success
in the future.”