Haddin named NSW Blues Coach as BBL coaching roles separated
Brad Haddin has been confirmed as the New South Wales men’s head coach while the Sixers and Thunder will have separate men’s head coaches to the state team next season, Cricket NSW has confirmed.
What Happens When Coach Roles Are Separated?
Cricket NSW said Haddin’s appointment will not include stewardship of either Sydney Sixers or Sydney Thunder, and both clubs will confirm their men’s head coach appointments in due course. The separation restores a distinction between the state program and the two Sydney Big Bash League clubs: the Sixers and the Thunder will operate with their own men’s head coaches independent of the Blues leadership.
Haddin, the incoming Blues coach, said he did not apply for either BBL position because he believed he could have the biggest influence on the state program and that he wanted to put his energy into the New South Wales team. He added he had opportunities to coach in different leagues around the world but that this is where he wanted to be; he also has a history with the Sixers as the club’s foundation captain and a member of their 2012 Champions League title.
What If BBL Clubs Appoint New Men’s Head Coaches?
The wider coaching reshuffle follows the early termination of Greg Shipperd’s contract as New South Wales coach, with Haddin confirmed as his replacement. Shipperd was also sacked by the Sydney Sixers in January after leading the club to the BBL|15 Final. Over 11 seasons in charge of the Sixers he guided the club to two Big Bash titles and six grand finals appearances, missing the finals just twice during his tenure.
With Trevor Bayliss’s contract at the Sydney Thunder not renewed, the Thunder are searching for a new men’s coach after finishing last in BBL|15, the second time in three seasons they placed at the bottom. Names linked to the vacant Sixers job in recent days include Matthew Mott, former Australian women’s coach, and James Hopes, while Shane Watson and Dan Christian have been mentioned as candidates for the Thunder position. Sixers general manager Rachael Haynes said Shipperd’s legacy at the club would be among the greatest the Big Bash will see and that the club will not rush list decisions until a new coach is appointed, so that the coach can help shape the future playing group in conjunction with high-performance staff.
Complicating immediate roster moves, a league-wide contracting embargo has been in place since the end of last month’s Player Movement Window; no player contracting activity—domestic or international—is permitted until the embargo is lifted in coming months. That pause will influence how quickly the BBL clubs can act once they name their men’s head coaches.
What Comes Next for the NSW Program and the BBL?
For New South Wales, Haddin’s decision to focus solely on the Blues suggests a concentrated program approach under the incoming coach. The Sixers and Thunder must each complete their own searches for men’s head coaches, work through list and high-performance priorities with their appointed leaders, and do so within the constraints of the league-wide contracting embargo. The immediate calendar will be shaped by those appointments and by the lifting of the player contracting freeze, after which clubs can begin to implement roster decisions aligned with their coaching appointments.
Uncertainty remains on timing and final appointments, but the central fact is clear: the state and BBL coaching pathways have been separated and the incoming Blues coach
