Canberra's up-and-coming cricketers are set to learn from Tasmanian all-rounder and three-time Sheffield Shield champion Luke Butterworth, who is joining Cricket ACT as the pathway manager.
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Butterworth retired halfway through last summer when "back troubles" finally got the better of him, having played with the Tasmanian Tigers for 13 seasons, in season one of the Big Bash League with the Sydney Thunder and toured Pakistan with Australia A in 2007.
The 32-year-old is making the transition from playing to coaching after a conversation with former Tasmanian teammate Aiden Blizzard, Cricket ACT's director of high performance.
"He mentioned this role to me a little while ago and it was something I was keen on," Butterworth said.
"I see Canberra as moving very rapidly forward in the next five years, I see it getting bigger and bigger.
"It probably won't be long until there's a women's BBL team and a men's BBL team, I think it's going to move pretty quick, and I'd like to be a part of it."
Cricket ACT say the role will form part of the high-performance unit within Cricket ACT, helping to administer and coach young male and female cricketers who are looking to play more representative cricket.
Having worked with the Tasmanian under-17 and under-19 sides, and the Tasmanian Roar women's side as a specialist coach, as well as head coach of his Hobart club side, Glenorchy, Butterworth's new role will see him have a particular focus on women's cricket.
"It's mainly to do with the female pathway. I've done a little bit of work with the female [WNCL] team in Tasmania, as more of a specialist bowling coach and really enjoyed that.
"It's a completely different way of coaching than it is coaching men, and I've really enjoyed that, so I'm looking forward to it."
Butterworth rose through the Tasmanian junior ranks before being contracted to Tasmania a year out of high school, and says a lot has changed since his junior days.
"A lot more time and money is going into pathways now ... we didn't have strength and conditioning coaches, and we trained probably once or twice a week, then you relied on club cricket to get you through whatever else you needed, now [juniors] are training two or three nights a week, in the gym – it's almost as much as the men."
As a coach his aim is "to keep the game as simple as possible".
"There's enough pressure put on you by yourself, let alone worrying about everything else you can't control, so I think keeping it simple and just worrying about what you're doing is the best way to go about it."
