FORMER Australian cricket coach John Buchanan is heading back to where it all began to coach Premier League cricket for the first time in 25 years.

Buchanan has agreed to coach Wests in the Brisbane Premier League, his first district duties since he coached University in 1993, before famously guiding Queensland to their first Sheffield Shield in 1995 and having a successful stint as national coach from 1999-2007.

“I was talking to (former Wests and Queensland fast bowler) Greg Rowell and he asked did I know anyone who would be interested in the job of coaching Wests, or whether I would be interested myself and it went from there,’’ Buchanan said.

“I have been longing to go back and be around grassroots cricket again. I spend a lot of time talking about it and coaching in general, so it will be good to go back and see what is actually happening.’’

Since he left the national job just over a decade ago, Buchanan has operated Buchanan Success Performance Coaching and he feels the grade stint will keep him in touch not simply with the game, but with how to interact with youngsters.

“In the corporate world there is a lot of talk about relating to young people, so this will really help me see how young people operate,’’ Buchanan said.

While Buchanan brings his extensive experience to Wests, former Queensland and Heat pace bowler Alister McDermott, 27, will take on the coaching reins at Wynnum-Manly, with former teammate Nathan Reardon as his assistant. Another ex-Bull, batsman Jerry Cassell, takes over at the Gold Coast this season.

Queensland Cricket has appointed former England captain and all-rounder Adam Hollioake to its coaching staff for the 2018-19 season.

Hollioake will work as the Assistant Coach-Pathways alongside John Davison, as well as taking on the role as head coach of the Queensland under-17 team and assistant coach of the Queensland Under-19 team.

He will also work with the Queensland Bulls coaching staff of Wade Seccombe, James Hopes and Andy Bichel, with his first appointment the series of intra-squad Queensland practice games next week at Bill Pippen Oval on the Gold Coast.

In another change, respected women’s cricket identity Andy Richards has accepted a role as assistant coach and batting consultant for the Pakistan Women’s team.

Richards, a former head coach of the WBBL Brisbane Heat and Queensland Fire, will be part of Pakistan’s build-up to the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup in the West Indies in November.

The Australian-born Hollioake captained Surrey from 1997 until 2003, winning three County Championships, as well as leading England in 14 One Day Internationals.

He played four Tests in a career that spanned 173 first class matches and 284 one-day games for England, Surrey and Essex.

Now Gold Coast-based, Hollioake had a post cricket career that involved stints as a professional boxer and Mixed Martial Arts fighter.