Gary Wilson: How 'ambitious' new head coach plans to grow Irish cricket

Just 24 hours after the historic series win over Twenty20 world champions India in Belfast, Ireland had a new coach.

On Monday morning, it was announced that Heinrich Malan would leave his role after four years in the job, to be replaced by former international Gary Wilson.

Wilson, who retired in 2020 with 292 international appearances after 15 years in green, becomes the first homegrown head coach of Ireland's men's team in more than 30 years.

Wilson sat down with BBC Sport NI's Haydn Parry to discuss building on the India win, succession planning, ambition and the depth of Irish cricket.

While Malan's departure a day after a historic win may have come as a shock, Wilson said that internally "the succession plan has been there for a period of time".

Since he retired in 2020, the 40-year-old moved into coaching and was assistant under Malan - something Wilson said he is "grateful for" as it helped him be in a position to take over with their "unbelievably good working relationship".

"I made no secret to Cricket Ireland that I was ambitious and this is the job I wanted," Wilson said.

"Obviously, I'll have my own ideas and the way I want to go about things, and no doubt over a period of time relationships with the guys will change.

"Being an assistant coach with the guys is very, very different to being the head coach, but at the forefront for me is relationships and communication."

Wilson will have to make some difficult decisions, and he wants honesty to be at the heart of everything.

"I know the landscape of cricket in Ireland. I'm not coming in blind in terms of the facilities we've got, in terms of what player pool we've got, contracts, money and all that.

"I'm well versed in that and I like to think that I'm a well-rounded choice, hopefully."

While Ireland's men stunned India in Belfast, it was a huge weekend for Irish cricket as a whole as Orla Prendergast inspired a first-ever win at the Women's T20 World Cup as Ireland claimed a six-wicket victory over the West Indies.

Wilson hopes that the historic three games can be a "springboard" for cricket in the country.

"I don't think Cricket Ireland could have dreamt up a better weekend," he said.

"I don't think the players or the staff or Cricket Ireland needed it to prove anything to themselves, but I hope that it gets more people engaged in the sport and more people knowing and understanding what it means to play cricket for Ireland.

"I hope it gives the sport a massive lift."

Matthew Hollard and Jai Moondra announced themselves on the world stage with their Ireland debuts against India

If Ireland had defeated India with a full-strength side it would have been an incredible story.

But the fact they inflicted a first T20 series defeat on the world champions since 2023 with so many key players missing - such as Paul Stirling, Mark Adair, Curtis Campher and Josh Little - only enhanced the moment.

But it gave a chance to Jai Moondra and Matthew Hollard to announce themselves on the world stage, and they each grabbed their chance with both hands as each took three wickets on Sunday.

For Wilson, that highlights a new-found depth for Ireland, whose playing pool is far smaller than a lot of the leading nations.

"What it just goes to show you that the depth is there and we just need some more opportunity," he said.

"Credit to everyone involved, everyone saw it as an opportunity at the time."

Wilson believes Moondra and Hollard will be sought in the world of cricket after their stunning performances, but he said: "It's not just them.

"What I really liked about the performances over the weekend was that there wasn't one player that played that didn't significantly contribute towards the 2-0 series win.

"All the guys can just be so proud of what they did."

After the T20 win over India, Ireland's only other scheduled summer action is a five-game ODI series with Afghanistan in August.

That will serve as preparation for the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup qualifiers, and the aim is to qualify for the finals in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

"We're laser-focused really on ODI cricket for now and everyone knows that that's a big goal to make sure that we're at that World Cup in 2027," Wilson said.

"We are hoping to have more games. We don't quite know what that looks like in the period over the next six months or so.

"We've obviously got the Afghanistan series coming up in August and it'll be about getting a group of players together that we really believe will give us the best chance come those qualifiers."

Last year, Cricket Ireland announced the development of a new stadium at Abbotstown in Dublin, which is set to be completed for the T20 World Cup in 2030, that will be co-hosted by Ireland, Scotland and England.

Before the T20 series with India in Belfast, a plan to invest £7.6m in the redevelopment of facilities at Stormont, so it could also host matches at the 2030 World Cup, was announced by the Northern Ireland Executive.

"That gives you two bases and it gives the players a home, a sense that they can come and they can do their gym, they can do their cricket, their fitness or whatever, in one place," said Wilson.

"Those are all important things. It is great to have the confirmation that we're going to have two bases now that we can really put our best foot forward with."