'McDonald Ahead Of Ponting In The Race For Australia Head Coach, Currently'

Andrew McDonald was appointed interim coach after Justin Langer stepped down

Former Australian cricketer and coach, Darren Lehmann feels Andrew McDonald has the credentials to become the side's next full-time head coach.

McDonald was appointed interim coach after Justin Langer stepped down within weeks of the 4-0 Ashes success as he was not happy with Cricket Australia (CA) giving him only a six-month contract renewal.

McDonald, who was Langer's assistant, has now boosted his chances of getting the top job on a permanent basis after overseeing Australia's Test series victory in Pakistan. A report in The Sydney Morning Herald suggested that McDonald is the frontrunner for the top job, as CA goes through its process of identifying Langer's replacement.

Lehmann, who was Australia's head coach between 2013 to 2018 before he quit in the aftermath of the sandpaper gate scandal in South Africa, feels "McDonald's chances of getting the job depends on how Cricket Australia wants to structure the role", according to sen.com.au.

The channel said that former skipper Ricky Ponting has also been identified as a leading candidate for the job by CA.

"I think McDonald will coach the Aussies for a period of time," Lehmann told SEN SA Breakfast. "It just depends whether they want to split roles and get Ponting on board. That would be my tip. I think McDonald's the frontrunner...the way it's panned out.

"It really depends on what Ricky Ponting wants to do, whether he wants to add his weight to the one-day game and the white-ball set-up."

Test skipper Pat Cummins was all praise for McDonald after Australia won the third and final Test at Lahore to clinch the series.

"He (McDonald) is a great operator. The boys absolutely love him," Cummins said. "Very diligent, very thorough, strategic, very organised. He's a huge part of this tour win. I've said before it's not my place to employ the coach, but Ronnie (McDonald) has been fantastic."