Middlesex add ex-Sussex coach Ian Salisbury to backroom team

Salisbury left Sussex under a cloud in September, but Middlesex are keen to add the former England spinner's experience to their coaching staff

Former Sussex head coach Ian Salisbury has joined Middlesex as a member of their first-team coaching staff.

Salisbury left his role at Sussex, where he was responsible for the team in the County Championship and Royal London Cup, in September but in reality had not been involved with first-team affairs since mid-August.

The former England leg-spinner, who has also held roles at Surrey and as head coach of England's physical disability team, was placed on gardening leave by Sussex following a non-cricketing disagreement with young off-spinner Jack Carson.

Middlesex expect Salisbury to bring several qualities to a coaching team that has already this winter expanded Tim Murtagh's role to make him a player-coach following the departure of Jade Dernbach, who has returned to Surrey.

^{Salisbury left Sussex in September 2022 (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)}

"We think he's going to be good for us in a number of ways," Middlesex director of cricket Alan Coleman told The Cricketer, "particularly giving us a bit of experience in our coaching team.

"He's done the head coach role, he knows county cricket like the back of his hand, he will be a great sounding board for (first-team coach) Richard Johnson and myself to lean on."

The county also hope that Salisbury's spin-bowling experience will benefit young leg-spinner Luke Hollman and left-arm spinner Thilan Walallawita, who are the two specialist spinners on the club's staff following the exit of Nathan Sowter at the end of his contract. Sowter has since signed for Durham.

Separately, The Cricketer reported last month that Mark Ramprakash – another part of the club's coaching team – is expected to continue in his role as a batting consultant, even once a proposal for him to become the county's next president is ratified at Middlesex's AGM in April.

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