Andrew McDonald has been appointed as the men's team's permanent head coach on a four-year contract. McDonald has been in the position on an interim basis since February following the resignation of Justin Langer, who oversaw Australia's successful qualifier against Pakistan, which they won 1-0. Next up, 424 Sports will report on things to do with Australia's head coach!
McDonald joins Australia as assistant coach in 2019 following a stellar period of coaching in domestic cricket, winning the Sheffield Shield and One-Day competitions with Victoria, as well as the eighth edition of the Big Bash League with the Melbourne Renegades.
McDonald faces a challenging 12 months as part of Australia's successful 2021 T20 World Cup campaign and Ashes series victory over Australia in the summer, with trips to Sri Lanka and India before defending his World Cup title in October and November.
McDonald said, "The journey so far has been particularly enjoyable and I am honored to be given this rare opportunity during the exciting times ahead."
"My plan is to build on the team's growth, depth and experience while working with the team and the game as a whole. There are a lot of challenges in the short term and I know that this is exciting for the leadership team, players and staff. I would also like to thank my family for their support."
McDonald beat off a number of candidates who interviewed for the position, which is considered by Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley to be "one of the most important people in Australian sport".
Andrew has shown that he is an outstanding manager and the vision he outlined for the role during the appointment process was both impressive and exciting, making him the clear choice for us.
"We are proud of the respect and performance the team showed throughout the trip to Pakistan under the leadership of Andrew, Pat (Cummings) and Aaron (Finch), and are very pleased that Andrew has taken on this role permanently."
McDonald will serve as head coach in all three formats, although high-performance and national team executive general manager Ben Oliver has acknowledged there may be a need to split the coaching staff in some cases. Some white-ball series are likely to be led by assistants given the heavy workload ahead and the opportunity to continue to develop Australia's coaches and players.
