Paul Farbrace was a former first-class cricketer for Kent and Middlesex. He was an excellent wicketkeeper but not strong enough with the bat at a time when the game was moving towards batsmen who could keep. After finishing with Middlesex, he moved into coaching, initially with the England women’s team and then the Under-19s, before returning to Kent. He was part of the Sri Lanka coaching set-up for the 2012 World T20 win, then became head coach in December 2013 and led Sri Lanka to the 2014 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. He was number two with England to Trevor Bayliss for four years, helping to lay the foundations for the 2019 ICC Men’s World Cup triumph in the 50-over competition. He left just before that memorable success to take up a role as Sporting Director at Warwickshire for four seasons before moving from Edgbaston at the end of summer (2022). He was appointed Coach at Sussex Cricket Club in 2023. His coaching skills took immediate effect, winning the 2024 second division county championship and gaining the team promotion.
Beginnings
Paul Farbrace was a former first-class cricketer for Kent and Middlesex. He was an excellent wicketkeeper but not strong enough with the bat at a time when the game was moving towards batsmen who could keep. After finishing with Middlesex, he moved into coaching, initially with the England women’s team and then the Under-19s, before returning to Kent.
Coaching career
In July 2007, he was appointed Trevor Bayliss’ assistant as Sri Lanka coach. He was part of the coaching set-up when Sri Lanka won the 2012 World T20, before later taking over as head coach in December 2013. In 2015, Farbrace and Bayliss were reunited in the England coaching set-up with dramatic impact. Paul was initially appointed as interim coach for the visit of New Zealand in 2015. He helped set in motion a new, more liberated approach to one-day cricket, putting the misery of England’s performance in that year’s World Cup swiftly out of mind.
When Bayliss came on board for the summer’s arrival of Australia, things changed further. England embarked on an upturn in their white-ball fortunes that would culminate in the 2019 World Cup win. Farbrace, however, didn’t quite see England over the line in that competition. He quit his role early in the year to take up a new post as Sports Director at Edgbaston, where he was highly successful before moving on to Sussex.
Terror Attack
Paul was injured during the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan coach before the third day of the second Test against Pakistan in Lahore, in which six police officers and two civilians died.
County cricket coach
He returned to Kent as First Team Coach (2010–2011) and worked as Yorkshire Second Eleven Coach (2012) before being appointed Sri Lanka head coach in December 2013. Farbrace led Sri Lanka to the 2014 Asia Cup, and greater glory followed that year with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as India were defeated in the final. A move to England followed as assistant coach to Peter Moores and then Bayliss, helping to lay the foundations which led to England winning the ICC Men’s World Cup in 2019. He left just before that memorable success to take up a role as Sporting Director at Warwickshire for four seasons before moving from Edgbaston at the end of summer (2022). He was appointed Coach at Sussex Cricket Club in 2023. His coaching skills took immediate effect, winning the 2024 second division county championship and gaining the team promotion.
Paul Farbrace as a Speaker
Paul Farbrace delivers a highly motivational speech, using the many England players he has worked with as examples alongside stories and situations he has come across in the game.
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