Former Yorkshire fast bowler Jared Warner says he is “incredibly proud” to be back on staff at Headingley as a high performance coach after retiring from playing last summer.
Warner, 27, called time on his professional career shortly after being told by Gloucestershire last May that he wouldn’t be offered a new contract for 2024.
Deep down, he admits to knowing his time was up having played sporadically for the first teams at Yorkshire and Gloucestershire since debuting for his home county in 2019.
And it was a decision which was vindicated almost as quickly by being successful in his July application for a full-time coaching role within the Yorkshire pathway structure.
Warner, a native of Wakefield, has been speaking to the Yorkshire website about the next phase of his cricketing journey, his wide-ranging experience as a coach despite his tender years and about fulfilling his new career ambition.
“My full focus now is to be a better coach than I was a player,” said the player who left Headingley for Bristol at the end of the 2020 Covid summer.
“I loved my time at Yorkshire as a player. I wish it could have lasted longer than it did.
“But to be here as a coach and have the responsibility of helping young players and shaping the future in some way – something I’m passionate about – is something I feel incredibly proud about and lucky as well.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity, and hopefully we can continue to produce a lot of players for the men’s and women’s first teams.”
That last comment gives you an indication of Warner’s coaching responsibilities at Yorkshire.
Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com. Jared Warner during his time as a Yorkshire player.
“I’m a high performance coach, predominantly working with the girls pathway,” he said.
“But, also, this winter I’ve spent a lot of time on the boys side of things as well – through the age-groups all the way to the Academy and a bit with the pros. It’s been really nice.”
Summarising his playing career, Warner took 18 wickets in as many appearances across all formats in county cricket, the last of which came in the One-Day Cup for Gloucestershire against Leicestershire in August 2022.
“I was told at the start of last May that there wasn’t going to be another contract for me at Gloucestershire and that I wasn’t even going to be playing second-team cricket through the summer,” he said.
“What that did mean was that I was able to concentrate on playing on a Saturday and doing as much coaching as I could through the week.
“I had a full summer of coaching in different environments, finished my Level Three badge (with the ECB) and saw this job come up in July time or something like that.
“It was a bit of a blessing in the end that I wasn’t playing for Gloucestershire through the summer because I had the time to get as much experience under my belt as I could to then be like, ‘Right, I’m ready for a full-time role’.”
Reflecting on his thoughts after the contract discussion with Gloucestershire, he continued: “My initial thought was, ‘Can I get any opportunities elsewhere?’. But that quickly went.
“I started 2022 quite well but struggled for large parts.
“Then I worked so hard to get into a place where I felt good again. But the weather was awful at the start of last summer and I’d bowled about 16 overs on grass by the time I was told about the contract. I just thought, ‘What’s the point’.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Jared Warner fields off his own bowling in the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy match against Lancashire at Headingley in 2020 – his final appearance wearing the white rose.
“Even though I was only 26, it felt like I’d had a long career having been involved in the county set-up since I was 15 or 16.
“Mentally, I was ready to move on and give coaching a really good go.”
Warner will continue to play club cricket on a Saturday, him returning to his old stomping ground at Methley in the Bradford League as their captain for 2024.
He grew up at Wakefield Thornes before moving to Methley and then to Gloucestershire sides Clevedon and Frocester in their West of England Premier League. He won the title with Clevedon in 2021.
“I enjoyed it in that league, it was a good standard,” he said. “But I’m looking forward to getting back to Methley and managing what it looks like alongside having a proper job.”
For that proper job, Warner’s preparation has been extensive.
“I started coaching when I was 16, so it’s been a while,” he said.
“I’ve done loads of different stuff just to get as much experience as possible.
“It’s something I’ve had my eye on for a while. I carried that on down in Gloucestershire, doing a mixture of stuff. I did some work on their pathway. I was head coach of a couple of teams down there.
“Then when I came back up here, I managed to get this role. Having moved back home. The timing was perfect.
Picture courtesy of Ben Silver. L-R. Jared Warner assistant coach, Ben Silver head coach, wicketkeeper-batter Liam Thomas and Yorkshire president and ECB disability performance manager Jane Powell were the Yorkshire contingent on England’s PD tour of India in January.
“Looking back, I’m very happy with the environments I’ve put myself in over the last 10 years. I’ve worked with really young players, 10 or 11-year-olds in pathways to adults.
“It stood me in really good stead for this job because I’ve been working with a wide variety of players.
“I’m learning every day, and that will never stop. But the work I’ve done previously has helped me come in and make an impact straightaway. I feel like I have done. Hopefully others see it that way too.
“We have a great team, led by Jimmy Martin (Yorkshire’s head of performance pathway). He puts the emphasis on us to take things in the direction we want to take it. That’s great.
“I’ve loved being back at Headingley. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that I’m back at the club.”
Warner described the chance to work alongside and learn from the likes of ex-quicks Ottis Gibson, Kabir Ali and Tom Smith as “gold for me as a young coach”.
And he has spoken with great fondness of his time working as an assistant coach within England’s Disability structure. In January, he toured India with the England Physical Disability squad. Ben Silver, another high performance coach at Headingley, is their head coach.
“I started that last January,” he said. “I was around those guys through the winter and summer and managed to get on the tour to India a couple of months ago. I learnt a lot there. It was awesome.
“I went into that environment not knowing a huge amount about Disability Cricket. It’s a fantastic environment to be a part of, and the quality is very high.
“Working with them is a really nice blend and mixture to what I do at Yorkshire. I’m working with adults there but mostly younger players at Yorkshire.
Picture by Dan Mullan/Getty Images. Jared Warner in action for Gloucestershire during the 2022 One-Day Cup.
“I was working with a group of players whose main goal is to try and win. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite get over the line in that series, but we still performed well.
“I was also part of the Disability Premier League last year. That’s the best players from around the country, a mixture from the Learning and Physical Disability and the Deaf structures.
“That was another great learning experience because you’re getting many different players and people in one place. That brings the standard up as well. I was an assistant with the Hawks, so I worked with Henry Wainman, Rob Hewitt, Cam Cooper. I’ve also done a bit of work with James O’Conner.
“The Yorkshire lads are doing well, which is amazing to see.”
On May 19, the England Physical Disability side will visit Weetwood to play Yorkshire’s Academy in a pair of T20s.
“I’m looking forward to that and to seeing how the lads go,” added Warner.
“Jimmy Martin has already joked with myself and Ben about what colours we’ll be wearing.
“The England lads are desperate to play some professional teams in whatever capacity they can. We beat Leicestershire Academy last year, and we’ve beaten Hampshire and Surrey as well.
“The lads want to play the best teams they can in the summer to prep them for a winter tour if another one happens. I’m sure it will be a really good day.”
