CA extends coach Lehmann's contract

Sydney, Oct 17 (IANS) Darren Lehmann's contract as Australia cricket coach was Friday extended by one year following the reversal of fortunes of the national team that regained the No.1 rankings in both Tests and ODIs under the former middle-order batsman.

The 44-year-old Lehmann, whose contract will run till June 30, 2017 , will have the responsibility of guiding the four-time World Cup champions to a crucial 12-month period which includes a World Cup on home soil for the first time in 23 years and another Ashes campaign in England, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

"We have been extremely pleased with the results Darren has achieved with the team since he came on board," Cricket Australia (CA)'s head of team performance Pat Howard said.

"He has helped create an excellent team environment that has seen players thrive. We want that to continue so we used the winter period to work through an extension to his current contract. Importantly it provides continuity for the team and certainty for Darren heading into a critical period for Australian cricket."

The former left-handed batsman is the third key figure at CA to be re-signed by the governing body this year, joining chief James Sutherland and chairman of selectors Rod Marsh on new deals.

Lehmann said his team, which starts a two-Test series against Pakistan next week after starting the tour by winning all four Twenty20 and One Day International matches, is heading in the right direction. 

"I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I have had in the job and am proud of what we have achieved so far. I want to continue with the work we have done on and off the field with the team, as I feel we are heading in the right direction," he said. 

It was good to be able to sit down with Pat Howard and James Sutherland and go through where we see the team going in the next while. I'm grateful that the board has shown faith in me to continue in the job."

"At the end of the day I will be judged by results, if the team is not performing then I am answerable. In the meantime, I am looking forward to this current Test series against Pakistan then getting stuck in as we lead into the biggest summer of Australia has seen in a long time."

Lehmann, who replaced Mickey Arthur ahead of the 2013 Ashes series in Australia, guided the team to a 5-0 victory over arch-rivals England, which helped them regain the No.1 Test ranking for a brief period.