McDonald yet to discuss coaching job with CA

Andrew McDonald has revealed he is yet to hold formal discussions about potentially taking over from Justin Langer as national men's team coach, but claims debate about the vacant role won't distract Australia's Test squad on their upcoming tour to Pakistan.

After Langer this month resigned from the position he had held since 2018, McDonald was elevated from assistant coach to interim supremo for the month-long Qantas Tour that begins in Rawalpindi next week.

Cricket Australia has begun the process of appointing Langer's replacement, with CA's newly installed chair Dr Lachlan Henderson noting last weekend the organisation would "move quickly" to fill the role with a decision likely to be made during the Pakistan tour.

Henderson also indicated he was "open to advice" on whether CA should consider splitting the job between red and white-ball coaches while CA's chief executive officer Nick Hockley claimed in the wake of Langer's resignation it was "important to have an over-arching head coach".

McDonald is considered among the front-runners for the job having effectively served as Langer's deputy since 2019 but he has not received or initiated any contact with CA regarding the role and does not believe speculation about a new coach will unsettle his players in Pakistan.

"I haven't had any conversations either way," McDonald told reporters today from Melbourne where members of the Test squad are preparing for Australia's first men's tour to Pakistan since 1998.

"It's really just been bedding down the interim role until the end of Pakistan and getting to work on the preparations, getting to work on the team.

"I'm very happy with whatever timelines they (CA) want to work within.

"It won't become a distraction, that will just be happening in the background.

"Our focus is firmly on the first Test in Rawalpindi (starting March 4) and preparation here.

"What happens with the process they run, and how that looks and where it fits in is entirely up to the (CA) admin base to work through.

"The coaching stuff is well and truly in the background for us here."

Former England coach Trevor Bayliss, whose name has also been linked to the vacant Australia national role, told the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday there had been "no contact" when asked if he had been interviewed for the job.

But while stressing his immediate focus was preparation of the 18-man squad (plus several standby players) that departs for Pakistan later this week, McDonald acknowledged he would need to confirm whether or not he's interested in the head coach position sooner rather than later.

"Clearly I have to make a decision before that if the process is run to the timeline Cricket Australia are giving," he said today.

"We'll work through it once we see what the job looks like.

"There's been some speculation around split roles or whether it's one coach, and that will all come out.

"But I think the key thing for us is to focus on cricket, and that's what we're here to do.

"We've got a big job in the next three days to get the preparation right, to get on that plane (to Pakistan) and make sure we get the preparation right when we land on the ground.

"You've got to start fast in a three-Test series, so no thought's been given to that (coaching discussion) at all.

"It's all about preparation, the team and bringing this group together."

In announcing Langer's decision to resign upon being offered a six-month extension to his existing four-year deal that was to expire in the middle of this year, Hockley cited the dual ambitions of "unity and future success" for the ongoing evolution of the national men's team.

As such, those criteria have been uppermost in McDonald's planning for the Pakistan tour since he was confirmed as Langer's interim replacement for the Test and limited-overs campaign that finishes in Rawalpindi on April 5.

"We've got some new inclusions in the squad, we've got some guys coming into quarantine that are on standby, so just trying to bring it all together and give ourselves the best opportunity to go over there and succeed," McDonald said of his priorities since the conclusion of the Dettol T20I Series against Sri Lanka last Sunday.

"That's been the focus and no conversations (about coaching appointment have been) had anywhere up or down."

He also reaffirmed that while his responsibilities and focus have broadened as interim head coach, the method and manner he brought to the role of assistant - having quit his positions at the helm of Victoria and BBL outfit Melbourne Renegades in October 2019 - has not ostensibly altered.

"I think the style is similar," he said of his transition to the top job, albeit on a temporary basis.

"The relationships, obviously you're managing staff more as a head coach.

"And simple things like my conversations with Patty (Test skipper Pat Cummins) go from a bowling conversation to a more holistic conversation around the team, being captain and coach.

"So there's some small shifts within that, and I'm hoping the style hasn't changed too much but that's up to others to discuss and critique.

"I'll just try to be myself in this role and do the best job I can up until the end of the Pakistan series."

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. On standby: Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Renshaw

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

Australia ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports