Andrew McDonald becomes Australia's full-time head coach

The former Australian allrounder Andrew McDonald has been appointed as the full-time head coach-cum-selector of the Australia men's team for the next four years. 

McDonald, who has been working as the senior assistant and bowling mentor of the team since 2019, played an additional role as the interim coach during the team's Pakistan tour following the resignation of the ex-coach Justin Langer. Although Australia lost the ODI series by 2-1, their historic victory in the Test series earned McDonald high praises from the Aussie skipper Pat Cummins. 

The Victoria-born has coached Victoria and Melbourne Renegades to four Australian domestic titles, including victorious campaigns in the Sheffield Shield, Marsh Cup and BBL in the same season in 2018-19. He also has the experience of coaching the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. 

In his reaction, McDonald said that it has been an incredible journey for him as a crucial part of the team management so far, and he is humbled for being given the role of the head coach. 

The 40-year-old acknowledged the efforts of the former coach Justin Langer, the Test captain Pat Cummins, the Limited-overs captain Aaron Finch and the entire team for Australia's astounding success across formats in recent times. He further clarified his objectives of building on the team's growth, depth, and experience working collectively with the players.    

"The journey so far has been particularly pleasing, and I am honoured to be given this incredible opportunity for what is an exciting period ahead", McDonald said. "The success of the world cup, the Ashes series, and now Pakistan has been a testament to the hard work and leadership of Justin, Pat, Aaron, and the players and the support staff. 

My plan is to build on the squad's growth, depth, and experience while working collectively with the group and across the game", the ex-Aussie allrounder added. 

On the other hand, Cricket Australia's general manager of high-performance, Mr Ben Oliver, said that they felt McDonald is the best candidate for the head coach's role as the latter has established a great rapport with all the players and has had a fair amount of success in his coaching career. 

"Andrew was the standout candidate in a high-quality field of coaches," Oliver said. "And we believe he's the best person to help continue the team's growth over the coming years," he added. 

Apart from being the coach, McDonald will also serve a selector's role and is set to be a part of the three-member panel alongside George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide.