Former international cricketer appointed Findon coach

The 27-year-old, who played for Sussex for the whole of his career, was forced to retire from the game last summer owing to a serious wrist injury.

Machan featured for Scotland in the 2015 World Cup but was dealt a blow when injury ended his playing career aged just 26.

Findon captain Bradley Bridson went to school with Machan and asked him if he would be interested in coaching some of the colts players at the club last summer.

The former Sussex star took him up on the offer and is also to return as coach once again in 2018.

As well as continuing his work with Findon’s age group teams, Machan will also coach senior players on Tuesday and Friday evenings throughout the season.

After a brief spell away from the game following his retirement, the former Scotland star is relishing his role at Sussex League Division 3 West Findon this season.

He said: “I’m very much looking forward to getting stuck in and started at Findon. It’s a great club in a fantastic location with a great youth set-up.

“I’ve known Bradley for years as we used to go to school together. He suggested I come up and coach last summer, which went well and here we are now.

“I’m looking forward to working with the senior players now as well and I feel over the next few years talented juniors at the club will start playing in the first team.

“It was incredibly tough and took me a long time to adjust to things outside the professional cricket bubble.

“I thought for a while that I didn’t want to coach and I wanted to completely move on. If I am honest, I had lost my love for the game during that process of retirement and for a while after. Since getting back into coaching, the love for the game has come back to me and I am really excited to be carrying my cricket journey on in a different way now.”

Machan, who will be working with Precise Cricket Coaching this summer, is hopeful of returning to play this season.

If he is to get back on the field, it will not be with Findon. Precise Cricket Coaching have links to Sussex League Premier Division Brighton & Hove and the hope is he can play for them.

He added: “We are lucky enough to work with a few club sides this summer at Precise Cricket, with one of them being Brighton & Hove. I will be coaching the men’s side there and playing for them on a Saturday, if my wrist allows.”

Findon captain Bridson is delighted to have Machan back on board as a coach for the coming season.

He said: "It's a massive coup to have Matt coming back to the club to work with both junior and senior players this season.

"Hopefully it could help us attract new players at junior and senior level when they see he is a coach at the club.

"I've known Matt for a long time and he's not ruled out playing for Findon one day, which would be great."