SYDNEY
\nAustralia\u2019s top cricket body appointed Andrew McDonald as a national coach on Wednesday, two months after the shock departure of Justin Langer.
\nMcDonald, 40, secured a four-year contract after winning praise for his performance as interim coach since Langer\u2019s abrupt resignation on February 5 shook the cricket world.
\nHe takes on one of the highest-profile jobs in Australia, where cricket is an essential part of the country\u2019s identity and the team\u2019s exploits grip much of the nation.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s an exciting opportunity, exciting role, and I am really happy, happy and grateful,\u201d McDonald told reporters after being confirmed in the job by Cricket Australia.
\nMcDonald returned last week from the side\u2019s successful Pakistan tour where they won the Test series and the sole Twenty20.
\nLanger left after failing to win the public support of key players including captain Pat Cummins, despite guiding Australia to a 4-0 Ashes victory over archrivals England and a maiden T20 World Cup title.
\nLanger was also credited with overhauling a toxic Australian cricketing culture that led to the 2018 \u201cSandpaper-gate\u201d ball-tampering scandal.
\nIn the run-up to Langer\u2019s departure, disgruntled players had complained anonymously to Australian media about his intense coaching style.
\n\u2018Fantastic job\u2019
\nBy contrast, limited-overs captain Aaron Finch had praised former Test allrounder McDonald\u2019s \u201ccalm approach\u201d.
\n\u201cHe never seems to get flustered by any situation or result \u2014 it\u2019s all about the process and making sure your preparation and attention to detail is 100%,\u201d Finch told reporters shortly after McDonald took over in the interim role.
\nCricket Australia said McDonald will be head coach in all formats but some white-ball series may be led by an assistant to alleviate the \u201csignificant workload ahead\u201d.
\n\u201cI think he will do a fantastic job,\u201d former Australia Test captain Michael Clarke said Tuesday on the eve of McDonald\u2019s widely anticipated appointment.
\nHe warned, however, that Australia would be under pressure to perform with McDonald, who had been an assistant to Langer since 2019.
\n\u201cTo me, it looks like this is exactly what the players want, which puts extra pressure on them if they don\u2019t perform,\u201d Clarke said in an interview with Sky Sports Radio.
\nAs captain, Cummins in particular would face \u201cextreme pressure\u201d, Clarke predicted.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s had Justin Langer sacked, pretty much… he\u2019s come out and said this is what the players wanted,\u201d Clarke said.
\nCummins has denied that a player revolt was behind Langer\u2019s resignation, saying he had tried to show respect for \u201cproper process\u201d by not intervening publicly to support or criticise him.
\nMcDonald, who has red hair and was inevitably nicknamed Ronnie, played four Tests for Australia with his biggest knock a 68 against South Africa.
\nA right-arm fast-medium bowler and a handy right-handed batter, he also played for Victoria and South Australia before turning to coaching, starting as head coach with English county side Leicestershire in 2014.
\n\u201cAndrew has done an outstanding job as interim head coach and has had a positive impact on the squad,\u201d said Cricket Australia executive general manager of high performance Ben Oliver.
\n\u201cI am looking forward to supporting Andrew and the team as we plan for an exciting period, which includes tours to Sri Lanka and India, a T20 World Cup and the home summer before an away Ashes series.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SYDNEY Australia\u2019s top cricket body appointed Andrew McDonald as a national coach on Wednesday, two months after the shock departure of Justin Langer. McDonald, 40, secured a four-year contract after winning praise for his performance as interim coach since Langer\u2019s abrupt resignation on February 5 shook the cricket world. He takes on one of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254924,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5912,423,196],"class_list":{"0":"post-254908","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-andrew-mcdonald","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cricket"},"yoast_head":"\n