Adam Gilchrist recognised coaching ability of Mark O’Neill

Gordon District Cricket Club | April 25, 2025

Another article has been written about the possible future role of Mark O’Neill in Australian cricket with Peter Lalor penning a story in the Australian on Thursday January 10. The story adds a further name to the list of “satisfied customers” with legend Adam Gilchrist rating Mark as “the best one-on-one batting coach I ever came across in my entire career as a professional cricketer”.

That is a big wrap as I am sure Adam would have come across many coaches in his time playing cricket.

Gordon cricketers of course have recognised his skills for some time, not only purely as a batting coach, but as a real student of the game who builds a team spirit through endeavour and expecting performance. There are no half measures in working with Mark.

Mark will show you what you need to do to improve your cricket and give you a pathway. It is up to the player to follow this and his work with players like Harry Evans is starting bear fruit. Harry is the leading Gordon run scorer with over 500 runs before Christmas and amazingly the third highest wicket taker in the SCA First grade stats with 25. A skill that Mark also works on with all of our bowlers due to his all-round experience.

His work at Middlesex was also highly acclaimed with his desire to return home and have the Central Coast as his base very important to him.

The article in the Australian read as follows: Quote:

If Brad Haddin and Shane Watson do find themselves playing for Australia in the Test side again any time soon they may have their personal batting coach on hand.

The Australian understands that former first class cricketer Mark O'Neill has been interviewed for the vacant job.

The highly respected batting coach works closely with Watson and Haddin and has worked with several former players.

Adam Gilchrist rates O'Neill "the best one-on-one batting coach I ever came across in my entire career as a professional cricketer".

O'Neill also worked with Michael Slater and is credited with helping him later in his career. Haddin worked with him extensively in the lead-up to this summer and has shown a significant improvement in form.

The Australian team has lost a generation of batting experience this summer. Justin Langer was the batting coach but stood down to take on the head coach position with Western Australia. Then, Ricky Ponting, who is one of the great technicians and was ever-present in the nets helping teammates with their batting, also left.

Australia brought in Stuart Law from the Centre of Excellence as an interim coach, but he does not want to apply for the position.

Dean Jones is consulting for the first part of the one-day series and others may be called on.

"We're yet to finalise the broader batting coach role so this opportunity to have some former players with us as specialists during the (ODIs) will be invaluable for our young squad," coach Mickey Arthur said earlier this week.

"I thank Stuart (Law) for his outstanding contribution over the past six weeks -- we are disappointed he is not in a position to consider the full-time role.

"We have quite a young ODI squad at the moment with a firm eye on the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, so to have the knowledge of one of Australia's best ever one-day players (Jones) with us for a couple of games will be invaluable for the group."

Australia's coaching staff will be spread thin next month with some heading to India with an advance party of players and the remainder steering the ODI side through to the end of that series.

The top order is unsettled ahead of the four Tests in the subcontinent and back-to-back Ashes series.

Ed Cowan struggled against Sri Lanka, Michael Hussey must be replaced and Watson is struggling to get a sympathetic hearing with the selectors now that he no longer wants to bowl.

O'Neill was a reliable right-hand batsman for NSW and WA and almost made the squad to tour India in 1986. He scored nine first-class centuries and 18 50s in a career that spanned 12 years.

The career coach served for three years at Middlesex from 2010 to 2012 as batting coach.

The county's managing director of cricket, Angus Fraser, spoke very highly of the Australian, who left because he wanted to return home.