Five contenders to replace Darren Lehmann
Speaking soon after Darren Lehmann announced his decision to step down as Australia coach at the end of the South Africa series, James Sutherland made it clear that Cricket Australia (CA) were not going to appoint the next boss in a hurry.
“I know there is a lot of talented coaches in the coaching ranks back in Australia, but I also reflect on the fact that amongst international cricket there are a number of coaches that are performing very well,” said Sutherland.
When Lehmann was appointed, as Mickey Arthur’s replacement, the 2013 Ashes series was just over two weeks away. England won that series 3-0 at home. Time is not of similar essence at the moment as the Australians are not scheduled to play before their limited-overs tour of England in June.
When the time comes, though, Sutherland and his colleagues should have a number of options to choose from. Here’s a look at five potential candidates.
Justin LangerThe former Australia opening batsman, who scored 7,696 runs in 105 Tests, has been thought of as the next coach of the national team for a while and was expected by many to take charge once Lehmann’s contract ended after the 2019 Ashes.
Importantly, Langer did helm the national side on one occasion, which was during the one-day international tri-series in the Caribbean – also involving South Africa – in 2016 when Lehmann took a break following a bout of ill health.
Langer moved to coaching in 2009 soon after retiring from international cricket in 2007 and has been involved with Western Australia and Perth Scorchers since 2012. In his time with Western Australia, the team have finished runners-up in the Sheffield Shield twice, while the Scorchers have been the most successful team in the Big Bash League and have won the title three times in seven editions.
Jason GillespieGillespie, Lehmann’s one-time teammate at both South Australia and the national team, recently signed a three-year deal to coach Sussex on the English county circuit, but that was before Lehmann vacated the coach’s post.
Gillespie, the former paceman, has had an impressive run as coach since starting out in the Zimbabwe domestic set-up in 2010. He has since coached Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and took Yorkshire to great heights during a five-year stint from 2011 to 2016.
In his first season with the team, they moved up from Division Two of the County Championship to Division One. After that, Yorkshire finished runners-up in 2012-13 and went on to win the Championship two seasons in a row.
That made him one of the front-runners to become the England coach before Trevor Bayliss beat him to the post.
An in-demand coach, Gillespie has spent time with the Papua New Guinea team and also assisted Lehmann with the Australian T20I side. More recently, Gillespie oversaw Adelaide Strikers’ run to the Big Bash League 2017-18 title.
Ricky PontingThe outstanding former Australia batsman and captain had once said that he wasn’t looking for a full-time coaching job but might be willing to take on the responsibility of the white-ball teams. He has spent time with the Australian T20I team in the past and has coached and mentored Mumbai Indians in the IPL. This season too he is the head coach of Delhi Daredevils in the IPL.
At a tricky time for Australian cricket, could he be the right man to put the team back on track leading up to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019?
Brad HaddinThe former Australia wicket-keeper batsman hasn’t been a coach for too long but has been spoken of admiringly by many, especially after his work with young wicket-keepers at the National Cricket Centre post his retirement in 2015. Haddin has also worked as an assistant coach with the Australia A side and has been the fielding coach of the senior side for a while now.
In terms of head coaching credentials, he might not match up to Langer or Gillespie, but he knows the current lot of players well and might be a dark horse to replace Lehmann.
David SakerSaker is another outside bet simply because he doesn’t have any experience of playing international cricket. But that was true of John Buchanan and Arthur too, as well as Trevor Bayliss. Saker, the former paceman, played for both Tasmania and Victoria and has been around in the backrooms for a while now.
Moving to the Australian set-up following a successful stint with England, Saker took charge of the Australian team in Lehmann’s absence during the one-day international tour of India in 2017.