Australia coach Darren Lehmann to miss ODIs against New Zealand

Melbourne, 26 January-  Australia head coach Darren Lehmann will not travel to New Zealand for the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series starting on February 3 as he awaits medical clearance to fly after suffering Deep Vein Thrombosis, Cricket Australia announced on Tuesday.

"Darren is in good health and feeling well at the moment but is still awaiting medical clearance for us to be satisfied that it is safe for him to fly. As such he will not travel to New Zealand for the One-Day International series," CA chief medical officer John Orchard said in a statement. 

"He is meeting with specialists in Sydney later this week and will have repeat scans on Friday to check his progress It is anticipated he will be fit to resume work in the coming weeks," Orchard added.

The squad is due to fly out on February 1 ahead of the first match of the series for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy on February 3 in Auckland. The second and third matches will be played on February 6 (Wellington) and February 8 (Hamilton).

CA executive general manager of team performance Pat Howard said Lehmann’s health was CA’s main priority.

“The health and wellbeing of our players and staff is always our first priority and that’s certainly the case with Darren. We will await medical advice from the specialists before we make any decisions regarding an interim coaching role for the limited-overs series in New Zealand," Howard said.

“We have strong depth in our coaching ranks and will make that decision in due course," he added.