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Greg Shipperd to join Delhi after Sheffield Shield

Greg Shipperd is trying to keep his eyes on two competitions in different hemispheres as one domestic competition winds down and another takes off

Peter English
Peter English
15-Mar-2010
Delhi Daredevils will be without coach Greg Shipperd for the first few IPL matches  •  Getty Images

Delhi Daredevils will be without coach Greg Shipperd for the first few IPL matches  •  Getty Images

Greg Shipperd is trying to keep his eyes on two competitions in different hemispheres as one domestic competition winds down and another takes off. Shipperd is the coach of the Delhi Daredevils during his normal off-season, but a change in IPL dates means his return to the tournament has been delayed by his Victorian team's hosting of the Sheffield Shield final from Wednesday.
Shipperd will fly to Delhi the day after the decider against Queensland finishes at the MCG, ending a difficult juggle of his demanding roles. "I do, technically," he told Cricinfo about watching both teams closely. "Late in the night I keep an eye on Delhi, while here my focus is on the Victorian team. That's the way these days. A lot of people are representing more than one team. It's a new world, an exciting one."
Delhi made a winning start to the IPL by beating Kings XI Punjab on Saturday and Shipperd's assistant coaches, including the recently-appointed Eric Simons, have been keeping him updated on all the developments. "Hopefully they can continue their winning start, but anything can happen in Twenty20," he said.
"There have been some really interesting movements from teams at the moment, with Mumbai doing well with ICL players who have come into the unit. Kolkata have also started really well and only need a couple of results to go their way before their belief skyrockets.
"A couple of teams have improved and we have improvement in us as well. It's going to be a terrific competition again." But first he wants to guide Victoria to back-to-back Sheffield Shield trophies.

Peter English is the Australasia editor of Cricinfo