Julien Fountain
Encyclopedia
Julien Fountain is an English
professional cricket
coach and former Great Britain
Olympic
Baseball
player. He has coached a wide range of both domestic and international, professional cricket teams including West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and England as both a Specialist Fielding
coach or as a utility / assistant coach.
Fountain was the first baseball
player to be used as a "Specialist Fielding Coach" by any test level cricket team when he was hired in 1998 by the West Indies to coach on their tour of South Africa
. On the 2000/01 West Indies tour of Australia
he took to the field as twelfth man for the West Indies during their fixture against the Prime Ministers eleven at the Manuka Oval
in Canberra
. He rose to the challenge by running out Anthony McQuire with a direct hit from the boundary In 2008 he was selected to help coach the Stanford Superstars, a privately funded cricket team set up by billionaire cricket enthusiast Allen Stanford
, who beat England in a one off T20 game for 20 million US dollars during the Stanford Super Series
.
He is a UKCC ECB Level 3 coach and is a T20 specialist, covering "Baseball Style" power batting mechanics, slower ball
s and elite fielding skills. In 2010, whilst in Bangladesh, Fountain and Ian Pont
used their baseball / cricket backgrounds to devise a completely new slower ball
called the "Projapoti" or "Butterfly Ball", so called because of the way it behaves in flight. He also launched an elite training program for fielders named S.P.A.C.E, which is an acronym of Safety, Power, Accuracy, Choice, Excellence which are its fundamental principles. In 2010 Fountain trialled his Fielding Analysis Software for the ICC High performance department, and also with Bangladesh. The final product is due to be released before the end of 2011.
During the 2010 Micromax ODI Series against Zimbabwe, Fountain was appointed temporary Head Coach status for the 3rd ODI, whilst Jamie Siddons attended the birth of his 2nd child back in Australia. Bangladesh won this ODI. This makes Fountain the first baseball coach to achieve Head Coach status with an ICC full member nation cricket team, as well as being the first baseball coach to instruct an ICC full member nation cricket team, the West Indies, in 1998.
within their youth development teams, from Under 13 to Under 19. He was selected to play in the Somerset Under 19 team aged only 15. Having played at under 19 level for two seasons and in need of a fresh challenge, he decided to take up baseball, and in 1988 was selected to represent Great Britain U19 in the European Championships in Bordeaux
, France
, having only been playing baseball for six months. The following year he made his debut for the full Great Britain National Baseball Team aged only 19. He represented Great Britain, as part of the British Olympic Squad in the European Championships in 1989 in Paris
, France
and in 1991 in Rome
, Italy
. Fountain represented Great Britain
as a pitcher
between 1988 and 2002. During this period he also attended several professional tryouts with Major League Baseball
teams including the Kansas City Royals
, Chicago White Sox
and New York Mets
. He approached a number of US universities, with the intention of taking up a partial scholarship, however due to a lack of additional funding, was unable to take up any offers, instead opting to continue playing in the UK whilst attending Thames Valley University
in London
. Due to university and work commitments, he was unable to continue his Olympic baseball career, but made a brief return in 2002 playing for the British Team in a tournament in Stockholm
, Sweden
.
Having finished playing youth county cricket in 1987, he returned to cricket in 1996 and has played several seasons of premier league club cricket in various parts of the world, where his fielding expertise has always made him a valuable asset to any team. He continues to combine playing league cricket and hockey with his coaching career, wherever possible.
, Eartham
, Sussex
. In 1996, he was approached by the British Baseball Federation
to assist with a cricket course run by the NCA or National Cricket Association which is now known as the England and Wales Cricket Board
. It was during this course that he was recognised by local participants as a former Somerset youth cricketer, and was bombarded with questions about how baseball skills transfer into cricket. It was at this time that he met Gordon Lord
, a former first class cricketer and national coach who thought that Fountain had a vital contribution to make to cricket. and immediately involved him with the coaching of England youth teams. He became a specialist coach with all the England youth teams and coached players such as Andrew Flintoff
, Chris Read
, Ben Hollioake
, Graeme Swann
and Owais Shah
. He also coached the England Women's Cricket Team,.
, however an offer was not forthcoming despite having successfully coached extensively around the First Class County Cricket circuit; so in 1998 when he was approached by the West Indies Cricket Board
who hired him to coach The West Indies ‘A’ Team in Antigua
, West Indies Cricket Team on their tour of South Africa
and the WICB Advanced Course in Trinidad and Tobago
, he was ecstatic as this was the level of cricket where he felt most at home. Following this introduction he was retained as part of the West Indies backroom staff. He was labelled as "Essential" by Tony Cozier
, a well-respected cricket journalist.
He rejoined the senior team in Jamaica
for the second Test and achieved fantastic results immediately, culminating in a fantastic series finish in Barbados
. It was during this series that he established himself as a leader in his field even claiming to have fixed Courtney Walsh
's throwing arm. He accompanied the team to the UK for the Cricket World Cup
however the team's performance was unfortunately overshadowed by the sudden illness of head coach, Malcolm Marshall
. In 2000 following his successful involvement with the West Indies in the Caribbean
and the Cricket World Cup
he was appointed to the role of Head Coach at Queens Park Cricket Club in Trinidad
and it was whilst performing this role he was again contracted by the WICB to coach the senior West Indies team, for a preparatory camp, in Jamaica
before their tour of Australia
. This tour was a particularly tough one for the West Indies, where they struggled in most departments, however the fielding continued to improve under the guidance of Fountain. It was during this tour that Fountain had to put his money where his mouth was when, due to a number of injuries, he had to take to the field wearing West Indies maroon as 12th man during the Prime Minister's Xl fixture at the Manuka Oval
, Canberra
. He rose to the challenge by running out Anthony McGuire with a direct hit from the boundary. He also fielded as a twelfth man for the West Indies against Australia 'A' in Hobart
, Tasmania
, on the same tour and again in 2007 against the MCC
at Durham
. Following the tour of Australia
, he returned with the team to the Caribbean
for the home series against South Africa
. This series saw Fountain's involvement diminished despite the benefits which were definitely showing, leading to allegations of underhand treatment.
to act as assistant and specialist coach for the Pakistan A cricket team on their tour of Sri Lanka
under Head Coach Mudassar Nazar
, an appointment which was seen as "clearly necessary". Upon completing the Sri Lanka tour, Fountain accompanied the team back to Pakistan where he was tasked with holding "Elite Coaching Clinics" at all the major academies including Karachi
, Lahore
, Peshawer and Rawalpindi
. He also attended a week long camp in Karachi under the guidance of Head Coach Richard Pybus
with the senior Pakistan National Cricket Team working with the players prior to their up coming home series. He also held a series of clinics for Pakistan coaches at each of the venues.
Upon returning to the UK, due to his absence from the ECB
system, his unofficial role as ECB fielding coach had been filled by various former players including Trevor Penney
and Gary Palmer, and consequently he fell out of favour with the governing body. Despite making a huge contribution to the improved way fielding was taught in professional cricket, he was unable to further his coaching career despite achieving all the relevant coaching qualifications and even becoming a tutor on ECB Courses.
in Berkshire
which allowed him to expand his coaching experience in the role of Director of Cricket / Head Coach. Whilst fulfilling this role he also gained valuable experience of Teaching Physical Education and coaching Hockey
, gaining more coaching qualifications. During this period he was also recalled to the Great Britain
Baseball Team, to add strength and experience to their pitching staff during a qualification tournament in Stockholm
, Sweden
in 2002.
to act as "Specialist Fielding Coach" for the Pakistan National Cricket Team on their tour of England
. During the tour his role as specialist fielding coach was reduced to allow his input into the team's batting performance. He was used extensively by both junior and senior players such as Inzamam Ul Haq, Younis Khan
, Mohammad Yousuf and Shahid Afridi
as a one-to-one batting coach. He was in the Pakistan dressing room at The Oval
on that fateful day in August 2006 when the infamous alleged "Ball tampering
" incident occurred.
Over the winter of 2006/2007, with this new found international experience and exposure, Fountain was hired by Peter Moores
, the ECB National Academy Director at the time, to work with England 'A' Team players, England youth team players, National Skill Set and Regional Skill Set Players.
In 2007 the West Indies Cricket Team were touring England and the new Head Coach David Moore
, on the recommendation of the senior players, requested Fountain's assistance as a specialist fielding coach for the remainder of the NPower Test Series and the ODI / T20 series. This proved to be a turning point for the team, as at the start of the series the fielding was below standard, however after having spent time reinforcing the skills, the team entered the ODI / T20 series with a new found enthusiasm for fielding which proved instrumental in the Nat West ODI Series win for the West Indies.
After the Nat West ODI series finished, he returned to the National Cricket Performance Centre, continuing his work with both current and up and coming England Cricketers, culminating in his selection as Head Coach of the England Under 16 for a series against Australia Under 16, which England swept where he was able to pass on not only the elite fielding skills, but the batting and bowling knowledge he had gained over his extensive international career. This tenure was one of his proudest moments in coaching as not only did England U16 sweep the series against Australia U16, without losing a game, but finally he gained recognition as a coach in his own right capable of coaching all aspects of cricket, not simply fielding. It was also at this time that he achieved another seemingly unattainable milestone by coaching England T20 specialist players at the National Performance Centre, prior to their departure to South Africa
for the T20
Cricket World Cup
.
organisation, who had established professional teams in Antigua
, Nevis
, St Lucia and Anguilla
. He spent a few weeks not only assessing and coaching these newly formed professional teams, but conducting a complete audit of each organisation, looking at coaching, facilities, players and every aspect of their day-to-day operations. It was also at this time, and following the guidelines of the McLaurin Report, that England decided that they should hire a full time fielding coach and despite his long standing involvement with the ECB, going back over 10 years, and his extensive international resume, which at that time had three full international teams and countless worldwide professional teams on it, was pipped to the post by part time cricket coach, PE Teacher and Director of Sport at Wellington College Richard Halsall
who was more familiar to the newly appointed England Head Coach, Peter Moores
, due to his link with Sussex County Cricket Club
.
of cricket where Middlesex County Cricket Club
from England, along with Trinidad and Tobago national cricket team, both of which had won their respective domestic T20 tournaments, joined England and the Superstars to play in a round robin series of games in Antigua, culminating in the 20 million dollar game against England on Nov 1st. The Superstars beat England convincingly.
As history shows the Stanford Superstars capitalised on their intensive coaching regime under Eldine Baptiste
, Roger Harper
, Cardigan Connor
and Fountain, by winning every game they played that week and receiving 20 million dollars, the biggest winners pay cheque ever offered in cricket.
There were mixed feelings across the world, both in the lead up to and following the series; and events have since proved that perhaps the Stanford connection within cricket may have been ill advised for many, however the potential good that may have come from his involvement with West Indies cricket, will now never be fulfilled, leaving the regions cricketing future in the balance.
, under former West Indies Cricketer, Phil Simmons
, during their World Cup Qualifying Tournament in South Africa
, which proved to be highly successful, with Ireland not only winning the tournament, which they had previously never achieved, but retaining their ODI status along with qualifying for the next cricket world cup in 2011. Later in 2009 he again assisted Ireland when they played in Aberdeen
against Scotland
and in Stormont
, Ireland
during their ODI game against England which they narrowly lost.
In December 2009 Fountain held clinics in St Kitts for the Canada Under 19 and West Indies Under 19 Squads, prior to their entry into the Under 19 world Cup in New Zealand in 2010.
, South Africa, for a short tour of Namibia.
In April, 2010, Fountain was hired by the ICC, International Cricket Council
, High Performance Unit to assist Ireland and Canada as part of their coaching staff, during their participation in the Jamaica Cricket Festival. Whilst on this assignment he also assisted with coaching Ireland in Trinidad, prior to their participation in the ICC World T20 Tournament in the Caribbean.
While in Trinidad, Fountain was invited to run "Specialist Fielding Clinics" for the highly acclaimed Trinidad & Tobago National Team, who were preparing for the Champions League qualification process.
In May, Fountain was again hired by Bermuda to help with the teams preparation for the ICC Americas Division 1 Championship to be held on Bermuda. He held a series of specialist fielding and T20 Batting Clinics for the Bermuda Team. He also held sessions for young Bermuda players, local coaches and local club teams.
In July, Fountain attended the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 Championships in Holland as the "Fielding Specialist Consultant" as part of the ICC High Performance Department. Other consultants included Mudassar Nazar
(Batting), Dayle Hadlee
(Bowling), Jeremy Snape
/ Michael Caulfied (Sporting Edge Performance), Dr Sherylle Calder / Christi Botha (Vision Training), Patrick Farhart (Physiotherapy / Player Management), Andy Russell (Strength & Conditioning), SportsMechanics (I) Pvt Ltd (Match Analysis).
set to become Bowling Coach
This story has since been proved at least partly correct, when it was announced by the Bangladesh Cricket Board that Fountain had indeed, joined the coaching & support staff of the Bangladesh Team. Kleusener finally turned down the role of bowling coach, which was then awarded to the highly acclaimed, and significantly more qualified, Ian Pont
.
Fountain and Pont got off to a good start with Bangladesh after "Tiger Washing" the New Zealand team 4-0 during the Micromax ODI Series in October 2010. This is the first time Bangladesh has had a series win over a full-strength, Test-playing nation in its 10-year history and subsequently rose to 8th place in the ODI rankings, above West Indies and into the elite top group of teams. This was followed in December 2010 by a 3-1 series win over Zimbabwe.
As well as handling the fielding, Fountain took a small hand in both batting & bowling coaching whilst working with Bangladesh, assisting not only with fast bowlers with their slower balls, baseball style power mechanics for all batters, actions and release techniques with the spinners and batting fundamentals and tactics with the tail enders.
Despite dramatically raising the standard of the Bangladesh team's fielding in only a matter of months, Fountains contract was not renewed.
(Bangladesh Bowling Coach) used their dual sport (Cricket/Baseball) backgrounds, to design a completely new slower ball
for pace bowlers or variation ball for spin bowlers Having both had experience as pitchers, Fountain and Pont were well aware of the movements it is possible to get a ball to do, with the correct release method. The ball has been named the "Projapoti" (in Bangla) or in English "Butterfly Ball" due to its unique movement patterns through the air.
He has twice been linked with the Indian Cricket Team, in 2008 and 2009, however both times have been press speculation.
In January 2010 Fountain expressed an interest in working for Pakistan again, as the team had been having fielding issues on their tour of Australia.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
coach and former Great Britain
Great Britain national baseball team
The Great Britain national baseball team is the national baseball team of Great Britain. It is governed by the British Baseball Federation, which is a member nation of the Confederation of European Baseball.-History:...
Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
Baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player. He has coached a wide range of both domestic and international, professional cricket teams including West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and England as both a Specialist Fielding
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
coach or as a utility / assistant coach.
Fountain was the first baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player to be used as a "Specialist Fielding Coach" by any test level cricket team when he was hired in 1998 by the West Indies to coach on their tour of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. On the 2000/01 West Indies tour of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
he took to the field as twelfth man for the West Indies during their fixture against the Prime Ministers eleven at the Manuka Oval
Manuka Oval
Manuka Oval is a 13,550 capacity ground located in the suburb of Griffith, adjacent to Manuka, a business district of Canberra, Australia's capital....
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. He rose to the challenge by running out Anthony McQuire with a direct hit from the boundary In 2008 he was selected to help coach the Stanford Superstars, a privately funded cricket team set up by billionaire cricket enthusiast Allen Stanford
Allen Stanford
Robert Allen Stanford is a former prominent financier and sponsor of professional sports who is in prison awaiting trial on charges his investment company was a massive Ponzi scheme and fraud. Stanford was the chairman of the now defunct Stanford Financial Group of Companies. A fifth-generation...
, who beat England in a one off T20 game for 20 million US dollars during the Stanford Super Series
Stanford Super Series
The Stanford Super Series were a series of Twenty20 cricket matches, sponsored by Sir Allen Stanford. The main game of the Series matched the English national cricket team against an all-star team from the Caribbean, called the Stanford Superstars....
.
He is a UKCC ECB Level 3 coach and is a T20 specialist, covering "Baseball Style" power batting mechanics, slower ball
Slower ball
In the sport of cricket, a slower ball is a slower-than-usual delivery from a fast bowler. The bowler's intention is to deceive the batsman into playing too early so that he either misses the ball completely or hits it high up in the air to offer an easy catch...
s and elite fielding skills. In 2010, whilst in Bangladesh, Fountain and Ian Pont
Ian Pont
Ian Leslie Pont is an English former cricketer. Known for a powerful throw and a brief foray into the world of baseball, Pont mainly played for Essex during his career, as did his brother Keith Pont....
used their baseball / cricket backgrounds to devise a completely new slower ball
Slower ball
In the sport of cricket, a slower ball is a slower-than-usual delivery from a fast bowler. The bowler's intention is to deceive the batsman into playing too early so that he either misses the ball completely or hits it high up in the air to offer an easy catch...
called the "Projapoti" or "Butterfly Ball", so called because of the way it behaves in flight. He also launched an elite training program for fielders named S.P.A.C.E, which is an acronym of Safety, Power, Accuracy, Choice, Excellence which are its fundamental principles. In 2010 Fountain trialled his Fielding Analysis Software for the ICC High performance department, and also with Bangladesh. The final product is due to be released before the end of 2011.
During the 2010 Micromax ODI Series against Zimbabwe, Fountain was appointed temporary Head Coach status for the 3rd ODI, whilst Jamie Siddons attended the birth of his 2nd child back in Australia. Bangladesh won this ODI. This makes Fountain the first baseball coach to achieve Head Coach status with an ICC full member nation cricket team, as well as being the first baseball coach to instruct an ICC full member nation cricket team, the West Indies, in 1998.
Playing career
Fountain started his cricket career playing for SomersetSomerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
within their youth development teams, from Under 13 to Under 19. He was selected to play in the Somerset Under 19 team aged only 15. Having played at under 19 level for two seasons and in need of a fresh challenge, he decided to take up baseball, and in 1988 was selected to represent Great Britain U19 in the European Championships in Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, having only been playing baseball for six months. The following year he made his debut for the full Great Britain National Baseball Team aged only 19. He represented Great Britain, as part of the British Olympic Squad in the European Championships in 1989 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and in 1991 in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Fountain represented Great Britain
Great Britain national baseball team
The Great Britain national baseball team is the national baseball team of Great Britain. It is governed by the British Baseball Federation, which is a member nation of the Confederation of European Baseball.-History:...
as a pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
between 1988 and 2002. During this period he also attended several professional tryouts with Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
teams including the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
, Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
and New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
. He approached a number of US universities, with the intention of taking up a partial scholarship, however due to a lack of additional funding, was unable to take up any offers, instead opting to continue playing in the UK whilst attending Thames Valley University
Thames Valley University
The University of West London is a public university based in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in Ealing and Brentford, London, and Reading, Berkshire....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Due to university and work commitments, he was unable to continue his Olympic baseball career, but made a brief return in 2002 playing for the British Team in a tournament in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Having finished playing youth county cricket in 1987, he returned to cricket in 1996 and has played several seasons of premier league club cricket in various parts of the world, where his fielding expertise has always made him a valuable asset to any team. He continues to combine playing league cricket and hockey with his coaching career, wherever possible.
Early coaching career
Fountain's first entry into cricket coaching took place in 1988, when he was appointed Head of Cricket at Great Ballard SchoolGreat Ballard School
Great Ballard School is a private school for children aged 2–13 of both sexes. It was founded in 1924 and set up at its current location in Eartham, Nr Chichester, West Sussex in 1961...
, Eartham
Eartham
Eartham is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located north east of Chichester east of the A285 road....
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. In 1996, he was approached by the British Baseball Federation
British Baseball Federation
The British Baseball Federation is the national governing body of baseball within the United Kingdom, founded in .BBF is a federated member of both the Confederation of European Baseball and the International Baseball Federation...
to assist with a cricket course run by the NCA or National Cricket Association which is now known as the England and Wales Cricket Board
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was created on 1 January 1997 combining the roles of the Test and County Cricket Board, the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council...
. It was during this course that he was recognised by local participants as a former Somerset youth cricketer, and was bombarded with questions about how baseball skills transfer into cricket. It was at this time that he met Gordon Lord
Gordon Lord
Gordon John Lord is a former cricketer: a left-handed batsman who played for Warwickshire and Worcestershire, but who despite a promising start in which he played three Youth Tests for England never fulfilled this promise and retired well short of 100 first-class games.After his matches for Young...
, a former first class cricketer and national coach who thought that Fountain had a vital contribution to make to cricket. and immediately involved him with the coaching of England youth teams. He became a specialist coach with all the England youth teams and coached players such as Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
, Chris Read
Chris Read
Christopher Mark Wells Read is an English cricketer, a wicket-keeper who is the captain of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club...
, Ben Hollioake
Ben Hollioake
Benjamin Caine Hollioake was an all rounder for Surrey County Cricket Club and the England cricket team. He was born in Melbourne, Australia, and moved to England as a boy, along with his older brother Adam...
, Graeme Swann
Graeme Swann
Graeme Peter Swann is an English international cricketer. He is primarily a right-arm offspinner, and also bats right-handed. After initially playing for his home county Northamptonshire, for whom he made his debut in 1997, he moved to Nottinghamshire in 2005. He often fields at slip...
and Owais Shah
Owais Shah
Owais Alam Shah is an English cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex between 1996-2010, before joining Essex CCC in the winter of 2010. He has represented England in all forms of the games.Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals...
. He also coached the England Women's Cricket Team,.
Test matches, ODIs and international cricket
Fountain had hoped to become part of the coaching staff for the full England team, under David LloydDavid Lloyd (cricketer)
David Lloyd is a former English cricketer who played county cricket for Lancashire and Test and One Day International cricket for England. He also played semi-professional football for Accrington Stanley...
, however an offer was not forthcoming despite having successfully coached extensively around the First Class County Cricket circuit; so in 1998 when he was approached by the West Indies Cricket Board
West Indies Cricket Board
The West Indies Cricket Board is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in the West Indies...
who hired him to coach The West Indies ‘A’ Team in Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
, West Indies Cricket Team on their tour of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and the WICB Advanced Course in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, he was ecstatic as this was the level of cricket where he felt most at home. Following this introduction he was retained as part of the West Indies backroom staff. He was labelled as "Essential" by Tony Cozier
Tony Cozier
Anthony "Tony" Cozier has been a cricket writer and commentator for West Indian cricket since 1958.Cozier is the son of Barbados journalist, Jimmy Cozier and he studied journalism at Carleton University, Ottawa...
, a well-respected cricket journalist.
He rejoined the senior team in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
for the second Test and achieved fantastic results immediately, culminating in a fantastic series finish in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. It was during this series that he established himself as a leader in his field even claiming to have fixed Courtney Walsh
Courtney Walsh
Courtney Andrew Walsh is a former international cricketer who represented the West Indies from 1984 to 2001, captaining the West Indies in 22 Test matches...
's throwing arm. He accompanied the team to the UK for the Cricket World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
however the team's performance was unfortunately overshadowed by the sudden illness of head coach, Malcolm Marshall
Malcolm Marshall
By 1984 Marshall was seen as one of the finest bowlers in the world, and he demoralised England that summer, especially at Headingley, where he ran through the order in the second innings to finish with 7-53, despite having broken his thumb whilst fielding in the first innings...
. In 2000 following his successful involvement with the West Indies in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and the Cricket World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
he was appointed to the role of Head Coach at Queens Park Cricket Club in Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
and it was whilst performing this role he was again contracted by the WICB to coach the senior West Indies team, for a preparatory camp, in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
before their tour of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. This tour was a particularly tough one for the West Indies, where they struggled in most departments, however the fielding continued to improve under the guidance of Fountain. It was during this tour that Fountain had to put his money where his mouth was when, due to a number of injuries, he had to take to the field wearing West Indies maroon as 12th man during the Prime Minister's Xl fixture at the Manuka Oval
Manuka Oval
Manuka Oval is a 13,550 capacity ground located in the suburb of Griffith, adjacent to Manuka, a business district of Canberra, Australia's capital....
, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. He rose to the challenge by running out Anthony McGuire with a direct hit from the boundary. He also fielded as a twelfth man for the West Indies against Australia 'A' in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, on the same tour and again in 2007 against the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
at Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
. Following the tour of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, he returned with the team to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
for the home series against South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. This series saw Fountain's involvement diminished despite the benefits which were definitely showing, leading to allegations of underhand treatment.
From the Caribbean to Karachi
After parting company with the West Indies due to contractual difficulties, Fountain was approached by the Pakistan Cricket BoardPakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board is a sporting organization that is responsible for governing all professional cricket including Test cricket and One Day International matches played in Pakistan...
to act as assistant and specialist coach for the Pakistan A cricket team on their tour of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
under Head Coach Mudassar Nazar
Mudassar Nazar
Mudassar Nazar is a former Pakistani cricketer with a career in Test cricket for Pakistan and in league cricket in Pakistan and England...
, an appointment which was seen as "clearly necessary". Upon completing the Sri Lanka tour, Fountain accompanied the team back to Pakistan where he was tasked with holding "Elite Coaching Clinics" at all the major academies including Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Peshawer and Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
. He also attended a week long camp in Karachi under the guidance of Head Coach Richard Pybus
Richard Pybus
Richard Alexander Pybus is an English-born cricketer and cricket coach.Born in the North-East of England, Pybus was raised in Australia, attending Normanhurst Boys' High School in Sydney. Richard Pybus' cricketing ambitions as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler were thwarted...
with the senior Pakistan National Cricket Team working with the players prior to their up coming home series. He also held a series of clinics for Pakistan coaches at each of the venues.
Upon returning to the UK, due to his absence from the ECB
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was created on 1 January 1997 combining the roles of the Test and County Cricket Board, the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council...
system, his unofficial role as ECB fielding coach had been filled by various former players including Trevor Penney
Trevor Penney
Trevor Lionel Penney is a former cricketer who played for Warwickshire County Cricket Club, noted particularly for his fielding...
and Gary Palmer, and consequently he fell out of favour with the governing body. Despite making a huge contribution to the improved way fielding was taught in professional cricket, he was unable to further his coaching career despite achieving all the relevant coaching qualifications and even becoming a tutor on ECB Courses.
A learning curve
In 2002, Fountain took up a pastoral position at Pangbourne CollegePangbourne College
Pangbourne College is a coeducational independent school located in the civil parish of Pangbourne, just South West of the village, in the English County of Berkshire....
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
which allowed him to expand his coaching experience in the role of Director of Cricket / Head Coach. Whilst fulfilling this role he also gained valuable experience of Teaching Physical Education and coaching Hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
, gaining more coaching qualifications. During this period he was also recalled to the Great Britain
Great Britain national baseball team
The Great Britain national baseball team is the national baseball team of Great Britain. It is governed by the British Baseball Federation, which is a member nation of the Confederation of European Baseball.-History:...
Baseball Team, to add strength and experience to their pitching staff during a qualification tournament in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 2002.
New beginnings
In 2006, having both grown as a coach and gained valuable youth coaching experience, Fountain was hired by Bob WoolmerBob Woolmer
Robert Andrew Woolmer was an international cricketer, professional cricket coach and also a professional commentator...
to act as "Specialist Fielding Coach" for the Pakistan National Cricket Team on their tour of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. During the tour his role as specialist fielding coach was reduced to allow his input into the team's batting performance. He was used extensively by both junior and senior players such as Inzamam Ul Haq, Younis Khan
Younis Khan
Mohammad Younus Khan is a Pakistani cricketer and former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Younus' name is often spelled Younis Khan, but he has been quoted as saying, "My name is Younus Khan...
, Mohammad Yousuf and Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi , popularly known as Shahid Afridi , is a Pakistani cricketer. Between 1996 and 2011, Afridi played 27 Tests, 325 One Day Internationals, and 43 Twenty20 Internationals for the Pakistani national team...
as a one-to-one batting coach. He was in the Pakistan dressing room at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
on that fateful day in August 2006 when the infamous alleged "Ball tampering
Ball tampering
In the sport of cricket, ball tampering is an action in which a fielder illegally alters the condition of the ball. Under Law 42, subsection 3 of the Laws of Cricket, the ball may be polished without the use of an artificial substance, may be dried with a towel if it is wet, and have mud removed...
" incident occurred.
Over the winter of 2006/2007, with this new found international experience and exposure, Fountain was hired by Peter Moores
Peter Moores
Sir Peter Moores CBE DL is a British businessman, art collector and philanthropist, a former chairman of the Liverpool-based Littlewoods football pools and retailing business in the United Kingdom....
, the ECB National Academy Director at the time, to work with England 'A' Team players, England youth team players, National Skill Set and Regional Skill Set Players.
In 2007 the West Indies Cricket Team were touring England and the new Head Coach David Moore
David Moore (cricket coach)
David John Arthur Moore is a former Australian state cricketer. He played as a wicketkeeper for New South Wales...
, on the recommendation of the senior players, requested Fountain's assistance as a specialist fielding coach for the remainder of the NPower Test Series and the ODI / T20 series. This proved to be a turning point for the team, as at the start of the series the fielding was below standard, however after having spent time reinforcing the skills, the team entered the ODI / T20 series with a new found enthusiasm for fielding which proved instrumental in the Nat West ODI Series win for the West Indies.
After the Nat West ODI series finished, he returned to the National Cricket Performance Centre, continuing his work with both current and up and coming England Cricketers, culminating in his selection as Head Coach of the England Under 16 for a series against Australia Under 16, which England swept where he was able to pass on not only the elite fielding skills, but the batting and bowling knowledge he had gained over his extensive international career. This tenure was one of his proudest moments in coaching as not only did England U16 sweep the series against Australia U16, without losing a game, but finally he gained recognition as a coach in his own right capable of coaching all aspects of cricket, not simply fielding. It was also at this time that he achieved another seemingly unattainable milestone by coaching England T20 specialist players at the National Performance Centre, prior to their departure to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
for the T20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
Cricket World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
.
Pro Batter Video Simulator Pitching Machines
Whilst at the National Performance Centre in September 2007, Fountain, after a recent research trip to the USA, brought the concept of using the Pro Batter Video Simulator Pitching Machine for cricket to the attention of Peter Moores and David Parsons. He introduced the company, Pro Batter Sports, to the England & Wales Cricket Board and in 2010 Pro Batter completed the installation of two units at the National Performance Centre at Loughborough. Interestingly it was not until Dene Hills, an Australian Cricket Coach, joined the ECB in late 2008, as batting coach, that they finally got in touch with Pro Batter regarding the possibility of using the machines for cricket; something Fountain had identified over a year before.Caribbean calling
At the end of 2007 Fountain was contacted by the Stanford T20 CricketStanford 20/20
The Stanford 20/20 Tournament was a cricket tournament in the Caribbean island of Antigua. It was held first in July and August 2006 in the West Indies at the Stanford Cricket Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda and the same place the year after...
organisation, who had established professional teams in Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
, Nevis
Nevis
Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...
, St Lucia and Anguilla
Anguilla
Anguilla is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin...
. He spent a few weeks not only assessing and coaching these newly formed professional teams, but conducting a complete audit of each organisation, looking at coaching, facilities, players and every aspect of their day-to-day operations. It was also at this time, and following the guidelines of the McLaurin Report, that England decided that they should hire a full time fielding coach and despite his long standing involvement with the ECB, going back over 10 years, and his extensive international resume, which at that time had three full international teams and countless worldwide professional teams on it, was pipped to the post by part time cricket coach, PE Teacher and Director of Sport at Wellington College Richard Halsall
Richard Halsall
Richard Grant Halsall is a former Zimbabwean cricketer. Halsall was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm fast-medium. He was born at Salisbury, Rhodesia ....
who was more familiar to the newly appointed England Head Coach, Peter Moores
Peter Moores
Sir Peter Moores CBE DL is a British businessman, art collector and philanthropist, a former chairman of the Liverpool-based Littlewoods football pools and retailing business in the United Kingdom....
, due to his link with Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
.
Stanford Superstars
The Stanford relationship was to prove crucial, as in 2008 Fountain was again hired by Stanford T20 Cricket, this time to be the official fielding coach for the newly formed Stanford Superstars professional cricket team. The Stanford Superstars were formed with the intention of playing a one off Twenty Million Dollar Game against England at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Antigua on November 1, 2008, which is incidentally, Antigua’s Independence Day. The event became the Stanford Super Series2008 Stanford Super Series
The 2008 Stanford Super Series was a cricket tournament sponsored by Texan billionaire Allen Stanford. The tournament was played between 25 October-1 November consisting of 5 warm-up matches and a $US 20 million for the grand finale. This final match was played between the Stanford Superstars and...
of cricket where Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
from England, along with Trinidad and Tobago national cricket team, both of which had won their respective domestic T20 tournaments, joined England and the Superstars to play in a round robin series of games in Antigua, culminating in the 20 million dollar game against England on Nov 1st. The Superstars beat England convincingly.
As history shows the Stanford Superstars capitalised on their intensive coaching regime under Eldine Baptiste
Eldine Baptiste
Eldine Ashworth Elderfield Baptiste appeared in 10 Tests and 43 One Day Internationals for the West Indies....
, Roger Harper
Roger Harper
Roger Andrew Harper is a former West Indies cricketer turned coach, who played both Test and ODI cricket for the West Indies...
, Cardigan Connor
Cardigan Connor
Cardigan Adolphus Connor is a Anguillan born former English cricketer. Connor was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler.-Career:...
and Fountain, by winning every game they played that week and receiving 20 million dollars, the biggest winners pay cheque ever offered in cricket.
There were mixed feelings across the world, both in the lead up to and following the series; and events have since proved that perhaps the Stanford connection within cricket may have been ill advised for many, however the potential good that may have come from his involvement with West Indies cricket, will now never be fulfilled, leaving the regions cricketing future in the balance.
Life after Stanford
In early 2009, Fountain was appointed as "Specialist Fielding Coach" to the Irish Cricket TeamIrish cricket team
The Ireland cricket team is the cricket team representing all of Ireland. Because of political difficulties, the Irish Cricket Union was not elected to the International Cricket Council until 1993, and qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2007. The Irish Cricket Union is the...
, under former West Indies Cricketer, Phil Simmons
Phil Simmons
Philip Veraint Simmons is a former skilled all-round cricketer who played as an opening batsman a useful bowler and a talented slip fielder.-Career:...
, during their World Cup Qualifying Tournament in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, which proved to be highly successful, with Ireland not only winning the tournament, which they had previously never achieved, but retaining their ODI status along with qualifying for the next cricket world cup in 2011. Later in 2009 he again assisted Ireland when they played in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
against Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and in Stormont
Stormont (cricket ground)
Stormont is a first-class cricket ground in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the grounds of the Stormont Estate, the seat of government in Northern Ireland, and is the home of Civil Service North of Ireland Cricket Club....
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
during their ODI game against England which they narrowly lost.
In December 2009 Fountain held clinics in St Kitts for the Canada Under 19 and West Indies Under 19 Squads, prior to their entry into the Under 19 world Cup in New Zealand in 2010.
ICC High Performance Program & Associate Teams
In March 2010, Fountain joined Bermuda as part of their coaching staff, on the recommendation of former West Indies & Australian Commonwealth Bank Academy Coach, David JA Moore. This was as part of their preparation camp held at the HPC (High Performance Centre) University of PretoriaUniversity of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...
, South Africa, for a short tour of Namibia.
In April, 2010, Fountain was hired by the ICC, International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
, High Performance Unit to assist Ireland and Canada as part of their coaching staff, during their participation in the Jamaica Cricket Festival. Whilst on this assignment he also assisted with coaching Ireland in Trinidad, prior to their participation in the ICC World T20 Tournament in the Caribbean.
While in Trinidad, Fountain was invited to run "Specialist Fielding Clinics" for the highly acclaimed Trinidad & Tobago National Team, who were preparing for the Champions League qualification process.
In May, Fountain was again hired by Bermuda to help with the teams preparation for the ICC Americas Division 1 Championship to be held on Bermuda. He held a series of specialist fielding and T20 Batting Clinics for the Bermuda Team. He also held sessions for young Bermuda players, local coaches and local club teams.
In July, Fountain attended the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 Championships in Holland as the "Fielding Specialist Consultant" as part of the ICC High Performance Department. Other consultants included Mudassar Nazar
Mudassar Nazar
Mudassar Nazar is a former Pakistani cricketer with a career in Test cricket for Pakistan and in league cricket in Pakistan and England...
(Batting), Dayle Hadlee
Dayle Hadlee
Dayle Robert Hadlee is a former New Zealand cricketer who played in 26 Tests and 11 ODIs from 1969 to 1978....
(Bowling), Jeremy Snape
Jeremy Snape
Jeremy Nicholas Snape is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and bowls right-arm offbreak. Outside of cricket, he has a Masters in Sports Psychology and has worked with a variety of national cricket teams....
/ Michael Caulfied (Sporting Edge Performance), Dr Sherylle Calder / Christi Botha (Vision Training), Patrick Farhart (Physiotherapy / Player Management), Andy Russell (Strength & Conditioning), SportsMechanics (I) Pvt Ltd (Match Analysis).
Bangladesh Cricket Team
In August 2010 rumours flooded the cricket media that Fountain was set to become the Fielding Coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team with former South African Cricketer Lance KlusenerLance Klusener
Lance Klusener is a South African cricketer, more specifically an all-rounder. He is known for his aggressive batting and his fast-medium swing bowling. He is nicknamed "Zulu" because of his fluency in that language. Following his exploits at the 1999 World Cup, he topped the ICC ODI Batting...
set to become Bowling Coach
This story has since been proved at least partly correct, when it was announced by the Bangladesh Cricket Board that Fountain had indeed, joined the coaching & support staff of the Bangladesh Team. Kleusener finally turned down the role of bowling coach, which was then awarded to the highly acclaimed, and significantly more qualified, Ian Pont
Ian Pont
Ian Leslie Pont is an English former cricketer. Known for a powerful throw and a brief foray into the world of baseball, Pont mainly played for Essex during his career, as did his brother Keith Pont....
.
Fountain and Pont got off to a good start with Bangladesh after "Tiger Washing" the New Zealand team 4-0 during the Micromax ODI Series in October 2010. This is the first time Bangladesh has had a series win over a full-strength, Test-playing nation in its 10-year history and subsequently rose to 8th place in the ODI rankings, above West Indies and into the elite top group of teams. This was followed in December 2010 by a 3-1 series win over Zimbabwe.
As well as handling the fielding, Fountain took a small hand in both batting & bowling coaching whilst working with Bangladesh, assisting not only with fast bowlers with their slower balls, baseball style power mechanics for all batters, actions and release techniques with the spinners and batting fundamentals and tactics with the tail enders.
Despite dramatically raising the standard of the Bangladesh team's fielding in only a matter of months, Fountains contract was not renewed.
Head Coach Status
During the 2010 micromax home series against Zimbabwe, Fountain was appointed temporary Head Coach status, whilst Jamie Siddons attended the birth of his 2nd child back in Australia. This was for the 3rd ODI at Sher-e-bangla National stadium in Dhaka, which Bangladesh won"Direct Hit" Performance Analysis Software System for Fielding
One of the most interesting things about cricket is the fact that a major section of the game, fielding, has little or no statistical data to call upon when selecting players, or making tactical adjustments. This had always puzzled Fountain, as he had extensive experience of baseball where all elements of the game, fielding included, are recorded. In 2010, Fountain's ground breaking "Fielding Analysis System" for cricket was put into a software package, to allow every aspect of cricket fielding to be scored and analysed, giving a complete picture on a team or individuals performance. The system was first used by Fountain during his early stints with the West Indies on the 2000 / 2001 tour of Australia, and has been 10 years in development. Since that time various people have tried to imitate or copy it, including certain well known TV companies; however the full software package is set for release before the end of 2011.Projapoti (Butterfly Ball)
In 2010, whilst on assignment in Bangladesh Fountain and Ian PontIan Pont
Ian Leslie Pont is an English former cricketer. Known for a powerful throw and a brief foray into the world of baseball, Pont mainly played for Essex during his career, as did his brother Keith Pont....
(Bangladesh Bowling Coach) used their dual sport (Cricket/Baseball) backgrounds, to design a completely new slower ball
Slower ball
In the sport of cricket, a slower ball is a slower-than-usual delivery from a fast bowler. The bowler's intention is to deceive the batsman into playing too early so that he either misses the ball completely or hits it high up in the air to offer an easy catch...
for pace bowlers or variation ball for spin bowlers Having both had experience as pitchers, Fountain and Pont were well aware of the movements it is possible to get a ball to do, with the correct release method. The ball has been named the "Projapoti" (in Bangla) or in English "Butterfly Ball" due to its unique movement patterns through the air.
S.P.A.C.E Program
Fountain launched a new training program for elite fielding on Nov 1st 2010 named the SPACE program. SPACE is an acronym of Safety, Power, Accuracy, Choice and Excellence which are the fundamental principles behind the program. It is designed to allow the player to execute the appropriate skill, using the correct mechanics, with the suitable amount of power; whilst maintaining the necessary accuracy and allowing for early target acquisition but late target change if necessary.ICC Cricket World Cup 2011
Fountain was part of the coaching staff for the Bangladesh National Cricket Team during the ICC Cricket World Cup.- Game 1 v India at SBNCS, Dhaka, which was won by India by 87 runs.
- Game 2 v Ireland at SBNCS, Dhaka, which was won by Bangladesh by 27 runs
- Game 3 v West Indies at SBNCS, Dhaka, which was won by West Indies by 9 wickets
- Game 4 v England at ZACS, Chittagong, which was won by Bangladesh by 2 wickets
- Game 5 v Netherlands at ZACS, Chittagong, which was won by Bangladesh by 6 wickets
- Game 6 v South Africa at SBNCS, Dhaka, which was won by South Africa by 206 runs.
Notable series involvements
Fountain has been involved with the following notable international tournaments, series & events:- 2011 Zoom Ultra ODI series, Bangladesh vs Australia, in Bangladesh (Australia Winners)
- 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & India
- 2010 Micromax ODI series, Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe, in Bangladesh (Bangladesh Winners 3-1)
- 2010 Micromax ODI series, Bangladesh vs New Zealand, in Bangladesh (Bangladesh Winners 4-0)
- 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division 1 Championships in Netherlands
- 2010 ICC Americas Div 1 tournament, in Bermuda
- 2010 ICC World T20 (Ireland pre tournament camp), representing the ICC High performance dept, in Trinidad & Tobago
- 2010 Jamaica Cricket Festival (Ireland & Canada), representing the ICC High Performance dept, in Jamaica
- 2010 Bermuda vs Namibia (Pre tour camp) in South Africa
- 2009 Ireland vs England ODI, in Stormont, Ireland
- 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa with Ireland (Ireland Winners)
- 2008 Stanford 20/20 for 20 vs England (Stanford Superstars Winners)
- 2008 Stanford Super Series (Stanford Superstars Winners)
- 2007 England U16 vs Australia U16 (Series 6-0 England Winners)
- 2007 West Indies Test / ODI in England (ODI Series 2-1, West Indies Winners)
- 2006 Pakistan Test / ODI in England (ODI Series Tied 2-2)
- 2001 Pakistan (Training Camp in Karachi)
- 2001 Pakistan ‘A’ tour, test / ODI series in Sri Lanka
- 2001 West Indies Test / ODI sereis vs South Africa, in the Caribbean
- 2000 West Indies Tests / ODI series in Australia
- 1999 England U19 vs Australia, in England
- 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup, West Indies in England
- 1999 West Indies Test / ODI series vs. Australia, in the Caribbean (ODI Series Tied 3-3)
- 1998 West Indies 'A' (Training Camp in Antigua)
- 1998 West Indies Test / ODI series in South Africa
- 1997 England U19 vs Pakistan, in England
- 1996 England U19 vs New Zealand, in England
Off the field
Fountain has written many articles on fielding, cricket, baseball and coaching which have been widely read, thanks to the internet. He has been on a huge range of sports television and radio shows, in all parts of the world. He has been involved with the research, production and presentation of coach education material for a wide variety of organisations including the ECB, PCB and WICB.He has twice been linked with the Indian Cricket Team, in 2008 and 2009, however both times have been press speculation.
In January 2010 Fountain expressed an interest in working for Pakistan again, as the team had been having fielding issues on their tour of Australia.
External links
- "CatchesWinMatches.com" Julien Fountain's official website
- Julien Fountain's Cricinfo Player page