Russell Domingo says no to Warriors coaching job

Former Proteas coach Russell Domingo has ruled himself out of contention for a return to the Warriors coaching position for now.

The Warriors job will become vacant when current coach Malibongwe Maketa joins the national camp as Ottis Gibson’s assistant at the conclusion of the on-going Ram Slam T20 Challenge next month.

Maketa was named as part of Gibson’s new coaching structure last week and no sooner had the announcement been made there was speculation on social media as to who would take over at the Eastern Cape franchise.

Domingo’s name invariably emerged as one of the possible contenders but he flat-batted the suggestion on Sunday.

“I’m really enjoying my South Africa A coaching job so I won’t be applying at the moment‚ no‚” Domingo said.

The former Warriors coach is currently travelling around the country watching domestic cricket as he bids to prime tomorrow’s stars.

“I do all sorts of monitoring on the contracted SA A side players. My job is to up-skill those players. And I’m very happy doing that at the moment.”

Domingo was head coach at the Warriors for six seasons and during that time became a fan-favourite as he won both the domestic T20 and one-day titles.

He then spent six years with the Proteas‚ two as assistant to coach Gary Kirsten and a further four as head coach until his contract ran out in August.

“I am really enjoying not having that responsibility at the moment. But I will reassess in about a year or so.

"I’d like to coach the team [Warriors] again‚ there is no doubt about it but not quite now. I want to spend some time at home with my family.”

Cricket Eastern Cape will have started the search for Maketa’s replacement and it is likely that job will be advertised soon.

Piet Botha and Frank Plaatjies are the current coaches of Eastern Province and Border sides respectively and they could come into the equation.

There are also well-known coaches like Richard Pybus and Shukri Conrad who may put their names in the hat while Makhaya Ntini has also gained valuable coaching experience having been with the Zimbabwe national side as interim head coach and assistant.

Maketa and Warriors chief executive Mark Williams will address local media at a press conference on Monday but it is unlikely that too many names will be thrown around at that gathering considering there are still four weeks before the end of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge.