University of Central Lancashire MSc Sports Coaching graduate, Atiq-uz Zaman is working for England and Wales Cricket Board as their newly appointed England National Men's and England Lions Batting Scout.
Atiq aspired to be an elite level coach in cricket whilst studying a Foundation Year degree in Sports and Exercise Science. He was recommended to progress on to a master’s course in Sports Coaching and chose to study at UCLan.
After graduating in 2013, Atiq travelled to Pakistan and worked as a Head Coach with a first-class cricket team called Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC). He then worked for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as a Fielding Coach of Lahore Qalandars, alongside a role as a Fielding Coach with Pakistan Women's Cricket Team.
After this, Atiq moved on to work as a Wicket Keeping Consultant at Pakistan National Cricket Academy in Lahore. In 2019, Atiq decided to split his time between Lancashire and Pakistan and started working as the Head Coach of Lancashire Women’s and Under 19’s teams at Lancashire County Cricket Club. One of Atiq’s proudest moments in this role was when the Lancashire Under 19’s team won the County Championship.
"I highly recommend the MA Sports Coaching course at UCLan as it helped me develop myself as a coach and I really loved the way it's taught by the tutors"
— Atiq-uz Zaman, MA Sports Coaching graduate
In 2020, Atiq became the Lead Fielding and Wicket-Keeping Coach at the National High-Performance Center (NHPC) for the Pakistan Cricket Board. As part of this role, Atiq led a player-centred approach to coaching. He also supported the Head of International Player Development to develop and maintain a team vision and team values within the NHPC.
Currently, in his role as England National Men's and England Lions Batting Scout for England and Wales Cricket Board, Atiq is responsible for formally scouting short and long-listed players and providing insight about players. He also attends scout development days and completes reports on scouted players.
Talking about his positive experience at University, Atiq said: “I highly recommend the MA Sports Coaching course at UCLan as it helped me develop myself as a coach and I really loved the way it's taught by the tutors. My favourite module was Philosophy into Practice. It also created opportunities for me in Pakistan as well as in the UK.”
When asked about what advice he would give to those wanting to do something similar, Atiq said: “Don't be afraid to put your philosophy into practice. Be flexible enough to amend the philosophy but don't compromise it.”
