In this blog post I will be talking to MTB Northern Knights head coach,
Simon Johnston about the 2021 season, his goals for next season and what his
plans are over the winter months with the representative players.
Simon Johnston was appointed into his current role in October 2016 and has
helped to improve the standard across the whole of the NCU. Johnston who is a highly regarded Level 4 coach was voted as
Cricket Ireland coach of the year in both 2015 and 2016 has helped bring
success to the Northern Cricket Union winning the Interprovincial T20 series in
2019.
2021 Season for the MTB Northern Knights
The previous season was a challenging one for the MTB Northern Knights. Before
the season had even started, with a reshuffle by Cricket Ireland to even out the
Interprovincial squads, the Northern Knights lost Murray Commins and Josh Manley
both to the Munster Reds and Irish International Shane Getkate to the North
West Warriors.
Johnson said "Losing an International Cricket player in form of Gets
was never going to be easy. Someone who can win you a game with bat and ball
and also offer leadership to the team was always going to be a big loss to the
side".
However, Simon has done a great job to recover from these losses
bringing in Luke Georgeson, Ben White and also Jeremy Lawlor into the core 13-man
squad.
Johnson added "Luke has come into the squad and has adjusted really well
to life in Belfast. He’s been one of the top performers in the league and has produced
some match winning performances for the Knights this season with both bat and
ball. Ben has offered us additional options with the ball, and it has been great
to see him progress to play International Cricket this summer".
Winter Training for the MTB Northern Knights
With Covid hampering last winters preparations, Simon is looking forward
to returning to a more normal winter of training with his representative squad.
Johnston will be looking forward to working with his extended Knights squad
and also the Emerging Knights over the coming weeks and months.
"The core squad will return to
Jordanstown for the start of winter training with the exception of the senior
internationals just back from the world cup in just under a month’s time".
Simon added that both squads would be taking part in two training sessions
a week to help improve their skill set in the run up to the season.
"Its important to keep the winter training sessions fun and engaging for
the guys as much as possible after a long season. The aim of the winter programme
for the senior guys is to train three days a week from November. This will help us vastly come the first inter-pro game of next season".
Johnston also noted how bubble life and touring has caused him to change
his approach to coaching the Knights.
"With covid bubbles still being a harsh reality of International cricket,
it is important to manage players in the right manner. Its changed how I go about
things, and I’ve been able to offer players such as Morgan Topping and Cian
Robertson their T20 debuts as a result".
Speaking of Morgan Topping and Cian Robertson how impressed have you
been with the two of them this season
"Cian having only moved over here in May has taken the league by storm and
reached over 30 wickets for his club. It was a good reward for his successful
season getting his debut at Comber in the T20 festival in September. Morgan
performed well with the bat for Waringstown and earned his T20 debut.
I look forward to seeing the progress these two make this winter ahead of the
new season".
Simon also stated that Matthew Humphries would have been brought in for his T20 debut at the North Down festival. However, he was unavailable for selection as he was away with the Irish 19's for their World Cup qualifiers in Spain.
Goals for next season
With the 2021 season being a year without a trophy and a bit of a
rebuild for the side, I talked to Simon about what his plans for the side are
for next season and what goals he has in mind.
"I believe we can reach the next level if we can keep this core squad together and continue to break in some more emerging guys and hopefully be able to challenge on all fronts".
I would like to thank Simon for taking the time out of his busy schedule
to help with my blog and wish him and the rest of the Northern Knights the best
of luck for the 2022 season.
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