Alex Gidman steps down as Worcestershire head coach

The departure of Gidman comes amid changes to the county's senior management structure, with a director of cricket due to arrive in the near future

Alex Gidman has stepped down as Worcestershire's head coach, bringing to an end his four-year spell in the role.

Gidman replaced Kevin Sharp at the end of the 2018 summer, during which Worcestershire won the T20 Blast. In his first year in charge, his side went within one ball of becoming the first county to retain that title, but since then performances across all formats have waned, culminating in a dismal T20 campaign in 2022 that saw them win just twice in 14 matches.

"I enjoyed my time at Worcestershire and would like to thank the club for all for its support," said Gidman. "I wish the club well for the future."

Club chairman Fanos Hira added: "Alex has led the club to great success, winning the T20 Blast in 2018 and runner-up in 2019. We wish him well in the next steps of his career and thank him for his contribution to our club."

The departure of Gidman comes amid changes to the county's senior management structure. A director of cricket is to arrive in the near future – the first time the club has had someone in that post in a standalone capacity, with Steve Rhodes previously having carried that title and simultaneously acted as head coach until he left in 2017.

^{Alex Gidman led Worcestershire to within a ball of consecutive Blast titles but then saw their white-ball cricket fall away dramatically (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

Gidman's future at the county had looked in doubt even before news of an incoming director of cricket signalled a changing of the guard. The Cricketer understands that last winter, he made it onto the four-man shortlist for the Middlesex first-team coach job, only to miss out to Richard Johnson, who ironically brought his Middlesex team to New Road in late September for a draw that sealed their promotion in what would ultimately be Gidman's last game at the helm.

A dreadful 2022 Blast was followed by an equally poor Royal London Cup campaign, with the club finishing bottom of their group in both competitions. They were more competitive in the County Championship, though, and were a couple of results away from mounting a serious challenge for promotion.

Typically for Worcestershire, Gidman's time in charge has coincided with the development of young talent: Jack Haynes, Josh Baker and Dillon Pennington have all enjoyed promising seasons.

But the exit of Gidman, a reluctant speaker to the media, also comes at the start of a busy winter on the playing side, with Moeen Ali and Ed Barnard both making the short journey to join Warwickshire, with Adam Hose coming the other way to join Matthew Waite, the former Yorkshire allrounder who has already made his loan spell permanent.

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