USA Cricket name Darlington, Mujtaba as U-19 coaches

NEW YORK: USA Cricket has appointed former fast bowler Kevin Darlington and ex-Pakistan batsman Asif Mujtaba as their U-19 men's and women's coaches respectively.

Darlington has more than 20 years of coaching experience across USA, Guyana and England. He was the assistant coach to the USA men's team for a two-year period from 2018 to 2019 that culminated in USA gaining ODI status for the first time at ICC World Cricket League Division 2 in Namibia, as per a USA Cricket media release.

As a player, he played first-class cricket for Guyana before going on to debut for USA in 2010, where he opened the bowling at the ICC World T20 Qualifier in the UAE.

On the other hand, Mujtaba has more than 20 years of coaching experience across USA, Pakistan, England, and Bangladesh. He has most recently been working as a youth coach in Dallas, Texas.

As a player, he had a 22-year first-class career that included 25 Tests and 66 ODIs for Pakistan. Resident in Plano, Texas, he has strong experience of youth and women's coaching and cricket development.

"We believe we have appointed two great coaches, with strong track records, who will make a big impact for American cricket and I am looking forward to working closely with them both," USA Cricket Operations Director Richard Done said.

"Kevin and Asif's roles will both have a specific focus on identifying and nurturing homegrown talent, as well as working closely on developing the player pathways and related programs to give the next generation of young girls and boys the best opportunity to succeed," he added. IANS

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