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by IANS |
Sydney, Feb 11 (IANS) Australia's white-ball skipper Aaron Finch has backed interim head coach Andrew McDonald to take over from Justin Langer as full-time coach of the side, saying the 40-year-old former all-rounder "brings a lot of respect from the players".
Langer had stepped down as the Australian head coach recently following Cricket Australia (CA) assuring him only a fresh six-month contract after his previous contract expired in June this year. According to reports, Langer's position as coach had become shaky in August last year after players and support staff had made their dislike known of his "volatile micromanagement style".
Ahead of Australia's opening T20I against Sri Lanka on Friday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Finch was quoted as saying by smh.com.au that McDonald was regarded highly by the team and had all the characteristic of a good coach.
Two day earlier, Test captain Pat Cummins had urged CA to appoint a coach who would bring a "calm and collaborative" approach to the team.
"He (McDonald) brings a lot of respect from the players," Finch said ahead of the series-opener against Si Lanka. "He has a calm approach. He's someone who never seems to get flustered by any situation or result. It's all about the process and making sure that your attention to detail and your preparation and your planning is 100 per cent.
"He brings a really good attitude around the group. He's been with the team for quite a while now. It's exciting times." The 35-year-old Finch and McDonald have played together for Victoria before playing under his coaching in the Big Bash League (BBL) side Melbourne Renegades.
"I've worked with him for a long time, we played together for a long time, I know he's very good at his job," said Finch.
Finch also praised the leadership qualities of Test captain Pat Cummins when he faced a barrage of criticism from Langer's teammates after the 51-year-old coach quit.
"Throughout the whole thing everyone is going to have their own opinions and regardless of where you sit on the subject I think that it's important that we remember Pat's done a really good job as captain over the Ashes," Finch said.
"Like Paddy said, guys are sticking up for their mate and we're doing the same thing. JL (Langer) did an amazing job for four years and that ended with a brilliant T20 World Cup win and a brilliant 4-0 Ashes win. As a playing group we couldn't thank him enough and I know personally, the amount of work he's done for me as a batter, as a person, as a leader has been fantastic."
