CA extend coach Lehmann's contract till 2019 WC

Cricket Australia (CA) on Monday announced the extension of head coach Darren Lehman's contract till the 2019 ICC cricket World Cup to be staged in England.

The 46-year-old southpaw took on the role on the eve of the 2013 Ashes and despite losing 3-0 in England, he went on to guide the team to series wins over South Africa, England, India, New Zealand and the West Indies.

Under him, the Kangaroos also won the 2015 World Cup at home besides sitting atop the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings in both Test and one-day international cricket. His contract was due to expire in June 2017.

CA executive general manager Pat Howard said the decision was taken to ensure stability in the team till 2019.

"We wanted certainty and stability for the playing group with both the coach and assistant coach contracted as we build towards the Ashes series and the 2019 World Cup," Howard said in a statement.

"(Darren) Lehmann has had great success in the role and he and the national selection panel deserve a huge amount of credit for taking a relatively young side to number one in the world in two of the three formats."

Lehmann, who is currently in Sri Lanka for the three-match Test series, which the hosts lead 1-0, thanked CA for the extension of his contract.

"I am incredibly grateful for the support and faith Cricket Australia and the players have put in me. I absolutely love doing this job and as far as I am concerned, it is the best job in the world," he said.

"There is still a lot I would like to achieve in the time I have left and we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, especially with an upcoming test series in India and a home Ashes series.

"I don't just see my job as winning games of cricket. It's about continuing to grow the game from the grassroots up in Australia, and helping to grow the game worldwide," he added.

--IANS

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