England's Australia-born bowling coach David Saker has signed a new deal which will keep him on until the end of the 2015 English season, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced Friday.
Aussie Saker signs new deal with ECB
The ECB's statement came less than a day after England arrived in Perth for a tour of Australia where they will look to win a fourth successive Ashes Test series.
Former Victoria and Tasmania paceman Saker, 47, has been widely praised for his work with England's seamers since joining the national set-up in May 2010 and ECB managing director Hugh Morris was delighted to have retained his services in the face of rival offers.
"David Saker has made - and continues to make - an enormous contribution to the success of the England team," Morris said in a statement.
"Since joining us in May 2010 he has worked with - and developed -- an outstanding bowling unit which has been key to winning two successive Ashes series, winning a global event (the 2010 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean) and climbing to number one in the world."
Saker's role was particularly evident during the 2010/11 Ashes tour where England's pacemen, in contrast to some previous series, found a consistently good length on Australian pitches that helped the side to a 3-1 win.
Saker, who replaced Ottis Gibson, now head coach of the West Indies, as England's bowling guru, welcomed his contract extension by saying: "Given the calibre of players in and around the side at the moment and the hunger and commitment from all involved I am very much looking forward to another very exciting period over the next couple of years starting with the immediate challenge of retaining the Ashes."
Saker's new deal comes a week after Australia confirmed former Test fast bowler Craig McDermott had been recalled for a second spell as their Test bowling coach.
Former England batsman Graeme Hick is a high performance coach at Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.