Cricket Australia Confirmed Andrew McDonald’s Appointment As Australia’s Interim Coach

Cricket Australia on Saturday confirmed that assistant coach Andrew McDonald has been appointed as the interim head coach of the senior Australia men’s team. This latest development came after Justin Langer decided to resign as the head coach.

Andrew McDonald has formerly worked as the head coach of the IPL franchise, Rajasthan Royals, and has also been part of the coaching staff for Melbourne Renegades in Big Bash League. His first assignment will be the white-ball series against Sri Lanka.

Cricket Australia Confirmed Andrew McDonald As Australia’s Interim Coach After Justin Langer’s Resignation

The 51-year-old Justin Langer was brought in as head coach during a tough period in Australian cricket. It had been rocked by the Sandpaper Gate – ball tampering scandal 2008 in Cape Town and needed to be rebuilt. Although the initial days were expectedly tough, Justin Langer turned it around after a while.

The highlights of his stint as the head coach are the retention of the Ashes in England in 2019, the maiden T20I World Cup victory in 2021, and the 4-0 Ashes 2021/22 hammering dished out to the Englishmen last month. Justin Langer has also left Australia at the top of the perch in the Test rankings.

“Justin was offered a short-term extension to his current contract, which sadly he has opted not to accept,” stated an official Cricket Australia release.

The contract extension offered to Justin Langer was the result of a thorough review process that evaluated many factors including future requirements of the team and the upcoming extensive schedule of fixtures.

The extension was approved by the CA Board and was put to Justin Langer last night. It included the opportunity to defend the T20I World Cup title in Australia at the end of this year. But, Justin Langer informed CA this morning he was not accepting the offer and would resign with immediate effect.

Cricket Australia Confirms Andrew McDonald Will Be Head Coach For T20Is Against Sri Lanka

After retiring as a player, Andrew McDonald became a cricket coach. He has coached Leicestershire County Cricket Club, ^{Victoria and the Melbourne Renegades. He won the Sheffield Shield in his first year as senior coach of Victoria. He was also bowling coach for Royal Challengers Bangalore and head coach of Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.}

“Andrew McDonald will step up into the role of interim head coach of our men’s national team, with official duties beginning with Australia’s upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka,” Cricket Australia tweeted.

In October 2019, Andrew McDonald was appointed as assistant coach to Langer with the Australian men’s cricket team. ^{On the 5th of February 2022, with the resignation of Justin Langer, Andrew McDonald was appointed interim head coach of the team.}