• Squad
• Academy
• Backroom Staff
• Club History
  • Origins
  • Key Dates
• Hall of Fame
• Visitor and Learning Centre

Ashley Giles

Director of Cricket

How long have you been in your role? I'm now in my third year as Director of Cricket, although it's my 19th year at Edgbaston if you count my time as a player. Warwickshire is a special place to work and play and I feel immensely privileged to have spent my whole cricket career here

What has been the most satisfactory moment of your job to date? Any good coach will tell you that it's the days when you see players successfully implementing the skills that you and they have worked hard on improving. Having the responsibility as a management team to take this club forward and to make the Bears a strong force in county cricket is a large one but it is a challenge we are thoroughly enjoying, and slowly but surely we have made good progress

What's the best Bears performance you’ve seen? Winning two trophies in two years has obviously been very pleasing, and in that time we've put in a lot of good performances. But, for me, the best to date was our Championship win against Sussex at Hove in 2009. We played some excellent allround cricket, several individuals turned in outstanding performances and we outplayed a good side on a fantastic pitch

What's the best thing about the Bears? The people and the fantastic atmosphere at the club. Edgbaston is a wonderful place to play cricket and has given me many great memories, both on and off the pitch. The staff and the players all pull together and only want good things for the club, and the crowds are always fantastic and supportive. They have even been kind enough to turn up and cheer me on during the odd Test match appearance! I can't speak highly enough of them

What's the best quote you’ve heard in the dressing room and who was it from? The Bears dressing room is a hive of activity during the summer and there is usually a lot of rubbish interspersed between some well-informed and useful cricket chat! I've witnessed many, many entertaining episodes over the years, but I think most of it falls under the category of 'you had to be there'!