The Melbourne Renegades are delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Klinger as the club’s new BBL Head Coach.
The two-time BBL title winner has signed for the upcoming season and becomes the fourth person to coach the BBL side since the club’s inception.
Klinger amassed 11,320 runs across a 20-year First-Class career and remains the highest run scorer in BBL history.
“To be given the opportunity to coach the current BBL champions is obviously very humbling and a fantastic honour,” Klinger said.
“I’ve played with and against a number of players in the squad and I’m looking forward to working alongside such a talented playing group. Andrew has set up a terrific platform and I’m ready to take that forward this season.
“I’ve been fortunate to represent some outstanding organisations throughout my career and the lessons I’ve learned along the way leave me feeling as well prepared as I can be for the challenges that will inevitably emerge throughout the season.”
Klinger represented Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia throughout his First-Class career and played for the Adelaide Strikers and Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash.
He also played T20 cricket for Australia in 2017.
Klinger has also led the Gloucestershire T20 program in English County Cricket over the last four seasons. In that time the club has reached the T20 Blast finals on three occasions.
Cricket Victoria’s General Manager of Cricket Shaun Graf said Klinger was the standout candidate from a very strong list of applicants.
“This was a highly sought-after role and we had candidates from across the globe. We are pleased that we were able to secure a person held in such high esteem,” Graf said.
“The qualities that made Maxy such an accomplished player are the qualities that will set him up for an excellent coaching career. He’s well-prepared, well-structured and an excellent man manager with fantastic leadership experience.
“We know he’ll receive strong support from Finchy and the rest of the team, as well as the other coaches.
“We are very excited to have Maxy on board and we look forward to providing the support and structure he needs to get the most out of his coaching career.”
The Renegades open their BBL campaign on December 19 against the Sydney Thunder.
Klinger commences in the role immediately.
