Former Australia batsman Adam Voges has been named the head coach of Western Australia (WA). He replaces Justin Langer, who was at the helm until recently before being appointed head coach of the Australian team.

Voges, 38, played his last Test in November 2016 and finished with 1485 runs from 20 Tests at 61.87, the average second only to Don Bradman’s iconic 99.94 for batsmen to have played at least 20 innings in the format.

He continued playing for WA and Perth Scorchers, playing his last first-class match – for Middlesex against Somerset – in September 2017 and last Twenty20 for the Scorchers in February 2018.

Voges turned to coaching almost immediately after his playing days were over, starting with a Perth-based academy, and the elevation to the WA role was, according to Christina Matthews, the WA Cricket Association CEO, “the natural progression”.

“No doubt there’s some big shoes to fill,” Voges said after being unveiled on Thursday 31 May.

His elevation to the top job is the result of Darren Lehmann stepping down as Australia's head coach in the aftermath of the ball-tampering incident during the Newlands Test against South Africa in March, and Langer replacing him.

Voges, who made his first-class debut during the 2002-03 season, had to wait until June 2015 for his Test debut but made immediate impact, scoring 130 not out against the Windies in Roseau.

“The ambition to take this job on has always been there, and it was probably just about timing (of Lehmann resigning and Langer taking over),” Voges said. “Two months ago, we thought that JL would probably be stepping up in a year’s time and timing-wise I thought that might be a good opportunity.

“But you don’t always get to work in that situation … and the timing is now."

Voges led WA from 2007 till the end of his career and such a long association with a team has prepared him for the job, he felt.

“Throughout my captaincy journey I guess I’ve been unwittingly preparing for something like this,” he said. “To be involved in the planning, in the selection process, and a lot of the meetings that you go to as captain, you certainly get a feel for what the coaching landscape is like. And it’s something I’ve always been interested in.”

Voges himself played under Langer from 2007 onwards – Langer became WA coach soon after retiring from the game – and believes the senior pro has left a great legacy behind, having led WA to two second-place finishes in the Sheffield Shield, in addition to three Big Bash League titles with Perth Scorchers.

“Justin’s done a terrific job with this programme and with this group for the last six years and that’s the reason why he’s the Australian coach now,” said Voges. “But what he leaves is some great values, some great structures and some excellent people here.”

Voges sees this as an opportunity to learn things he might not have seen as a player and captain for all those years he played for WA.

“The fact that is I don’t have that experience with the title ‘coach’ next to my name, although I have a lot of leadership experience, particularly with this group. It’s just learning about a lot of the things that as a player you don’t see day in, day out,” he said.

“As a player, you worry about looking after yourself, as a captain, you probably worry about looking after your team but as a coach you’ve got a lot more responsibility than that.”