Adam Shantry becomes Shrewsbury’s Head Coach

By Stuart Dunn at the Shrewsbury Chronicle

Ambitious Shrewsbury have appointed former professional cricketer Adam Shantry as their new head coach as they set their sights on more success.

The London Road club, Birmingham League champions in 2010 and 2013, are delighted to have secured the services of Shantry, who enjoyed a successful career as a left-arm bowler in the first-class game with Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Glamorgan.

Shantry, 32, will work closely with both the club’s senior players and also the host of exciting young talent within Shrewsbury’s junior programme.

There is also the prospect that he might play the occasional match for the first team although he will have to take into account his fitness having been forced to retire from the professional game owing to a knee injury.

“Shrewsbury’s a great club and I’m really excited to be involved,” said Shantry, these days a cricket coach at Shrewsbury School who also works for the Glamorgan Academy.

“I can still play just about, but I’m joining the club primarily as a coach. What Shrewsbury have achieved already is fantastic and I just want to help add to that.

“There’s plans to improve the youth system and I’m looking forward to improving training for the seniors and making it as fun and as interesting as possible.

“I spent five winters playing for clubs in Australia and they would often have more than 40 people training twice a week in the evening for two hours.

“I want to get more people wanting to attend senior training, get the numbers up, stay for a drink afterwards and really build the team spirit.”

Shrewsbury’s free-scoring opening batsman Ed Foster insisted the county town club were excited to have Shantry on board.

“We’re hoping he can take us to another level,” said Foster. “We’re really pleased that Adam’s coming in. It’s a big step for the club and it’s not something we’ve done since Ross Stephen used to come over from Australia.

“We’re looking for our junior programme to really develop under Adam while he will also work with the club’s senior players.

“Adam will deliver and implement a coaching programme for our junior members so he can really put his stamp on the sessions.

“We also plan to hold training camps for both junior members and non-club members during the summer holidays to give more youngsters the chance to play cricket and potentially get involved with the club.

“Adam’s very excited about it and looking forward to it.

“It’s great for us to have secured the services of a reputable coach and he may even play for us in some games when he’s free of other commitments with Shrewsbury School.”

Shantry comes from a big cricketing family as his dad Brian used to play professionally for Gloucestershire.

His younger brother Jack, 26, a former Shrewsbury player, opens the bowling for Worcestershire and played a key role in their recent promotion to the first division of the County Championship.

Shantry started his cricket career locally with Perkins (now Reman Services) and also represented Shropshire before breaking through to the first-class game with Northants.

He then moved to Edgbaston to play for Warwickshire before a successful spell at Glamorgan where he hit his maiden first-class century.