Darren Lehmann is back in cricket… with Australia

By Adam Ellis

Darren Lehmann is back in employment with Cricket Australia two months after resigning as Australia head coach in the wake of the ball-tampering affair that blighted the Test series against South Africa.

His new role will see him join the National Performance Programme to assist Troy Cooley in working with the country’s top talents this winter Down Under.

A coach who guided Australia to the World Cup trophy and taking Australia to the top of the ICC Test rankings in 2014, Lehmann’s expertise across all formats was something that would prove a rich commodity to the performance set-up.

Cooley told cricket.com.au: “I had a good chat with ‘Boof’ (Lehmann) and he was really keen to continue his coaching.

“And what a great opportunity – having his expert skills in the areas that we need.

“He’ll work with our targeted group of NPS players, but we’ll also have our specialist blocks come in; so his first four weeks will coincide with our spin program, which involves eight spinners from around the country plus the 10 NPS players.

“They’ll all be able to talk to Darren about playing on subcontinental wickets, get his T20 thoughts, one-day and long-format thoughts about how to play and how to adjust your training.

“To have someone who’s got that experience matching up with our coaching staff, it’s invaluable.

“And Darren has already told me he is relishing the opportunity, so it’s win-win all round.”