Yorkshire County Cricket Club have appointed John Sadler as batting coach for the men’s team.

Sadler, a product of the Yorkshire Academy who went on to enjoy a successful playing career with Leicestershire, will join the club in the coming weeks as preparations begin ahead of the 2025 season.

With a wealth of coaching experience, including most recently as head coach at Northamptonshire, the 42-year-old will be working with the Yorkshire’s batsmen to prepare them for the challenge of Division One Championship cricket, following promotion from the second tier in September.

An elegant left-handed batter himself, Dewsbury native Sadler made in excess of 5,000 runs in a playing career that spanned 11 years, before transitioning into coaching upon his retirement.

Yorkshire’s general manager of cricket, Gavin Hamilton, said: “We are delighted to have secured John’s services as our men’s batting coach, and it's great to welcome him back to the club.

“Following a very competitive recruitment process, John emerged as the best candidate for the role and we are confident that he can help to develop our batting group across all formats of the game.

“Having enjoyed a successful playing career before moving into coaching, John’s experiences will be of great value to us.

"We’ve seen in 2024 that we have a really strong group of players and, with new men’s head coach Anthony McGrath also starting in his role this week, we are in great shape to take the squad forward in 2025.”

Anthony McGrath has gone back to his former club Yorkshire after a long spell at Essex.Anthony McGrath has gone back to his former club Yorkshire after a long spell at Essex. (Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.)

Sadler said: “It's a huge honour to be returning to Yorkshire as batting coach and I can't wait to get started.

"Having come through the Yorkshire Pathways and started my playing career with the White Rose, I know how important cricket is in the county and am excited by the tremendous opportunity ahead of us.

"It's clear that the club have a very talented group of batters, both at a first team level and throughout the pathways, and I'm looking forward to playing my part in developing the group to be competitive across all formats.

"From what I've seen, we have a good mix of experience and promising young players who have the potential to compete in Division One of the Championship and for white-ball trophies.

"I'm looking forward to playing my part as our preparations for 2025 start in the next few weeks."