Photo Credit: Queensland Cricket
Brisbane Heat championship coach and Queensland Bulls mentor Wade Seccombe will not seek reappointment to those roles ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Seccombe informed Queensland Cricket today that after a coaching career spanning seven years as head coach of both the Bulls and the Heat, he had chosen not to pursue a new contract.
The Heat claimed its second ever KFC Big Bash League trophy in January when the Seccombe-coached team beat the Sydney Sixers at the SCG.
“Winning the BBL was huge goal of mine as a coach and a massive achievement for the club, and that is something that I will look back on with great pleasure down the track,’ he said.
“I said when I was reappointed a few years ago that there were several coaching goals I had set myself, with a BBL title and a chance to work with the Australian team again or internationally among the challenges that lay ahead for me.
“My family and I will take stock on things from here and see what opportunities may present themselves in the future. I am eternally grateful for their support and the success I have been fortunate to experience as a coach is due to them.”
Seccombe, who oversaw three championship winning teams and two runners-up placings with either the Bulls or the Heat since commencing with Queensland Cricket in 2017, thanked his coaching and support staff for their unstinting efforts in assisting him as coach.
“We have been blessed to have some very talented and dedicated people working in Queensland Cricket and I sincerely thank those individuals who sacrificed much to give the playing group the chance to improve their skills and enjoy success.”
“I certainly thank the captains Usman Khawaja, Jimmy Peirson, Colin Munro, Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne as well for their commitment to the squads and for working diligently to make the most of any chances when they came our way.”
“We have an incredibly talented playing group and there are exciting times ahead for them. I wish them all the best for the future,’’ he said.
Queensland Cricket’s General Manager – Elite Teams, Performance & Pathways, Joe Dawes, thanked Seccombe for his dedication as coach and wished him the best with his future.
“Wade informed us that he would not be seeking a new contract, and he was upfront about his intentions once he had completed the various post-season reviews with players and staff,’ he said.
“We will now go to market for the role of head coach of the Brisbane Heat and Queensland Bulls and are very confident that such a prime coaching role will attract some outstanding candidates who will relish the chance to work in this exciting program,’’ Dawes said.
“Queensland Cricket thanks Wade and his family for their commitment on and off the field and we certainly wish him every success in his future endeavours. He will no doubt look back on the BBL title win this season with the satisfaction of a job well done,” he said.
Seccombe was appointed Bulls coach in 2017 and took on the dual roles of head coach of the Heat and the Bulls in 2021 after guiding Queensland to their two most recent Marsh Sheffield Shield titles in 2017-18 and 2020-21.
He played 101 Shield matches and captured 519 dismissals for Queensland in a career that spanned 13 years and was involved in the Bulls’ ground-breaking maiden Shield title in 1994-95.
He stood behind the stumps for four more successful first class campaigns, including Queensland’s hat-trick of titles from 1999-2000 to 2001-02.
Name of Author: Queensland Cricket
Queensland Cricket, previously the Queensland Cricket Association, is the governing body for cricket in Queensland, Australia. Established in 1876, it oversees the Queensland Bulls, Queensland Fire, Allan Border Field, and Queensland Premier Cricket. Terry Svenson is the current CEO, and Kirsten Pike is the Chair of the Board of Directors.
