With the 2025-26 Domestic cricket season less than a month away from starting, Cricket Tasmania can now share the structure of their bowling coaches following the off-season departure of Rob Cassell.
Joining the male program will be former Australian all-rounder and current Assistant Coach of the Hobart Hurricanes, James Hopes, who has accepted the position of Bowling Coach – Male Program.
He is delighted to be joining the Tasmanian Tigers and to have the opportunity to mentor the players and coaches with Tasmania’s system.
“I am excited and cannot wait to work with such a diverse bunch of bowlers.
“There is a great mix of ages, and I am looking forward to it,” said Hopes.
Also stepping in to support Hopes is former Tasmanian Tiger and current pathways bowling coach, Sam Rainbird.
Rainbird is excited to be back working with the group, with a large portion of the players still in the squad after his retirement at the end of the 2023-24 season.
“I am looking forward to joining the Tasmanian Tigers as the bowling support coach and working closely with someone of James Hopes' quality.
"To be given an opportunity to work with some of the most talented bowlers in Australia is something I am quite excited by, and I hope I can impart some of my knowledge and learnings from throughout my career to our squad," stated Rainbird.
His role will be ‘Support Bowling Coach’ and will step in as the bowling coach when Hopes is in Brisbane and expands on Rainbird’s current role as pathways pace bowling coach.
Both coaches will play a vital role in managing the bowlers within the male program to ensure their development and needs are being met.
The bowling stocks in Tasmania continue to be some of the best in the country, with Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Iain Carlisle, Kieran Elliott, Nathan Ellis, Riley Meredith, Lawrance Neil-Smith, and Billy Stanlake all likely to play for Tasmania during the 2025-26 season.
Also on Tasmania's books are the young pace bowling talents of Marcus Bean, Will Prestwidge, and Aidan O’Connor, who will look to utilise the experience of Hopes and Rainbird to continue their development with the ball.
Tasmanian Tigers Male Program Head Coach Jeff Vaughan is looking forward to having both coaches around the squad in the coming season.
"I am very pleased to have James and Sam join our coaching staff for the upcoming season.
"Hopesy is incredibly well respected around the world for his expertise when it comes to bowling, and to have access to his coaching will be an asset to our Tasmanian Tigers program this summer.
"Rainey is someone who we view as being a high potential coach within our system, and he will be able to use his knowledge and experience from throughout his career to be the bowling support coach for our program,” said Vaughan.
The Tasmanian Tigers' first game of the summer is a Dean Jones Cup match in Sydney on Tuesday, 16 September, against New South Wales, and their home match at Ninja Stadium is a Sheffield Shield match starting on 15 October.