Cricket Leinster is delighted to announce that Conor Armstrong has been appointed as Lightning/Bolts Manager in succession to Mark Jones.
Conor comes to the role with a proven track record as both a player and a coach having completed an illustrious career primarily with North County CC where he won many o trophies over a hugely successful period for the club.
A former Irish International, Conor is a current Lightning selector and has worked alongside Mark Jones and the team over recent years so is well placed to now support Nigel Jones in his capacity as Head Coach/Pathway Manager as they build for the future. Conor only recently concluded his own playing career when he starred for Rush CC as they won the National Cup in 2018.
Conor spoke about his delight in taking on this role - ‘Absolutely delighted to have joined up with Leinster Lightning & Bolts ahead of the 2020 season. Big boots to fill after Jonesy stepped down after a long period and a hugely successful time.Having been selecting for the Lightning for a couple of years now, I was delighted to offer my services to work alongside Nigel Jones. I’m really looking forward to next season working with Nigel and a great group of players, some with high quality experience and some great young talent in the squad so a good balance. Also some excellent talent knocking on the door to get into the side.We have been the dominant team over the last number of years with 17 trophies to date and we will be doing our very best to add to that and keep the Lightning winning many more trophies.’
Nigel Jones, Lightning/Bolts Head Coach & Pathway Manager added his support - ‘I’m delighted that we’ve been able to appoint someone of Conor’s pedigree.
His experience and knowledge of Cricket in Leinster is well documented and I believe that these qualities, coupled with his passion and pride in the badge (Leinster Lightning) makes Conor the ideal appointment. I’m looking forward to working with Conor and having his support in what promises to be yet another challenging IP season ahead!
It was never going to be an easy task finding a replacement for Mark Jones, a quality man and operator - however Conor’s appointment will help us to ease into a new era while remaining focused on driving performance standards on to the next level.’
Please join with us in wishing Conor every success in this important leadership role as the new Lightning/Bolts Manager.