When the Christ’s College 1st XI won their first ever national Gillette Cup title in December 2022 they were superbly led by coaches Keryn Amber and Ryan McCone. We are grateful to the College captain Nick Gibb for writing this article on the men who guided the team to greatness. Nick himself, when this Annual Report is published, will be enjoying cricket and life experiences with the Arundel Castle Cricket Club (Sussex).
Christ’s College’s history of Gillette Cup finals qualification, since the inaugural 1990 tournament, is quite limited. However, since Keryn Ambler began as head coach of the Christ’s 1st XI it comes as no coincidence that the results have dramatically improved and finally this culminated with a Gillette Cup victory in 2022.
Guys in the team largely credit this success and their own development as players to Keryn’s expertise and his coaching partnership with Ryan McCone. The two work well together. Keryn’s coaching is not limited to Christ’s College as he also expertly juggles his commitment as the Christchurch Metro Cricket development manager. The first time I met Keryn when I was in year nine and involved in Metro training. It became immediately obvious to me that Keryn was not a coach who just had ‘one way’. He was able to adapt to different requirements and ambitions of different cricketers. Keryn’s professionalism and knowledge as a coach was somewhat unsurprising given his own playing experiences with Canterbury A, numerous seasons with Lancaster Park premier men and his player/coach experience on various overseas contracts.
Keryn is someone of great character; a person of integrity who is seen as a role model to our team. Players comment on the balanced environment he creates by mixing enjoyment with professionalism. Keryn works hard to ensure he has a positive relationship with every player in the team. At heart he is a positive and kind person. The only negative experience I’ve ever had with Keryn was the time he hit me for six over the hedge at The Willows in the annual fixture.
Over the last couple of years, under Keryn’s leadership, things have not always been smooth sailing. In sport the character of the team can be put to the test. In such situations Keryn has trust in us to problem solve without his need to resort to a dressing room ‘spray’. Keryn’s way is to provide his sound advice and give the tools to the lads. I recall a day in early 2021 against our big local rivals when things were not going to plan and the chips were down. No matter how much the lads began to panic or stress, Keryn’s words of only being ‘two wickets away’ or ‘one big partnership away’ were pivotal in changing the match situation.
It is well known that Keryn is well respected amongst cricketing circles. The respect that Keryn gets through coaching at College and Metro is not limited to his work with the guys in the team but extends to the parent group behind the team, and to opposition players and coaches too. Some of the boys from the 2022 Christ’s 1st XI described Keryn as a coach who always had the team in mind but who also made sure to establish positive relationships with all the boys. Many noted how they had made significant technical advancements in their game under him. Not only this, Christ’s also won the Spirit of Cricket Award at the Gillette Cup; this was due to the culture that Keryn and Ryan had created throughout the whole year. They had us playing cricket in the right way and also had the boys enjoying the game. This also meant out of the 13 guys who are leaving our 1st XI squad of 14, almost all are continuing with some form of cricket following school.