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Bowling coaches for Cup, Ashes revealed

Adam Griffith to join Aussies at the World Cup before Troy Cooley lends his expertise to the Ashes campaign

Troy Cooley, who is credited as being a key figure in England breaking its Ashes drought on home soil in 2005, has been appointed Australia's bowling coach for the five-Test series in the UK later this year.

Cooley's appointment as Bupa Support Team Assistant Coach for the Qantas Ashes Tour that gets underway in July comes as Tasmania coach Adam Griffith was named to fill that role for the team's ICC Men's World Cup campaign that immediately precedes it.

Griffith, who worked alongside incumbent coach Justin Langer when the pair were at the Western Warriors, has also gained previous international experience with the national men's team during the 2016 tour to the West Indies.

The dual appointments follow the departure of another former England bowling coach, David Saker, who resigned from his position at the conclusion of the Australian international summer last February.

Cooley was installed to the role for the recently completed limited-overs campaign in India during which Australia completed an historic 3-2 ODI series win after losing the opening two matches, and also triumphed in the two T20Is played prior to the one-day fixtures.

The 53-year-old former Tasmania seamer is currently with the men's team as bowling coach for the ongoing Qantas Tour of the UAE ODI series against Pakistan, which Australia leads 2-0.

Cooley came to prominence as a bowling coach when working for England during the 2005 Ashes contest in the UK, when the home team's four-pronged pace attack of Steve Harmison, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones bamboozled Australia's batters through their mastery of reverse swing.

That proved the most significant difference between the teams as England won their first home Ashes series in two decades, establishing a dominance on their home turf that has seen them triumph in all three Ashes series played since then.

Griffith, who took over as Tasmania coach in 2017 after leaving Perth, also boasts significant white-ball experience in England having played limited-overs cricket for Leicestershire in addition to his eight-year senior career as a seamer with Tasmania.

The 41-year-old served as bowling coach under Langer with the Western Australia Cricket Association, with his elevation to the senior role two years ago wholeheartedly endorsed by his former boss, with whom Griffith will once again join forces for the World Cup.

"We are fortunate to have Adam join us for the World Cup, and Troy continuing with us for the Ashes Series in England," Langer said from the UAE today.

"I've worked with Adam in the past at the WACA and been pleased with how hard he's worked to establish himself as one of the best young coaches in Australia.

"While his primary focus will be on preparing our fast bowling group for the physical and mental demands of a World Cup in England, he'll also be a great educator and mentor for our entire squad.

"Troy has been with us for our successful tour of India and the current tour of UAE.

"He's been a fantastic addition to our coaching team, and brings a great wealth of knowledge, experience and success having coached Australian and England teams in England.

"His focus will be to prepare our Test bowlers for what's shaping as an exciting Ashes Series in tough English conditions."

In announcing the dual appointments today, Cricket Australia's Interim Executive General Manager, Team Performance, Belinda Clark noted that both Cooley (who has held a CA coaching role since returning to Australia in 2006) and Griffith bring vast knowledge and experience to their respective roles.

Clark also confirmed the appointments cover only the men's team's upcoming playing commitments during the Australia winter, and a decision on how those roles are filled beyond the World Cup and Ashes will be made later in the year.

"We reached out to the coaches working in Australian Cricket and received expressions of interest from a strong field of candidates and through the process Adam and Troy emerged as the clear standouts for these secondments," Clark said.

"Adam and Troy have extensive coaching experience, which we believe will help support our players to best prepare and perform in the upcoming campaigns.

"We would like to thank Cricket Tasmania for releasing Adam for this period.

"At the completion of the World Cup and Ashes Series we'll review the overall coaching structure and assess the best path moving forward based on the upcoming schedule, player needs and team direction under Justin."

Australia's World Cup defence begins against Afghanistan at Bristol on June 1, while the first Ashes Test starts on August 1 at Edgbaston.

Australia's World Cup fixtures

May 25: (warm-up) England v Australia, Southampton

May 27: (warm-up) Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton

June 1: Afghanistan v Australia, Bristol (D/N)

June 6: Australia v West Indies, Trent Bridge

June 9: India v Australia, The Oval

June 12: Australia v Pakistan, Taunton

June 15: Sri Lanka v Australia, The Oval

June 20: Australia v Bangladesh, Trent Bridge

June 25: England v Australia, Lord's

June 29: New Zealand v Australia, Lord's (D/N)

July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)

July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford

July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston

July 14: Final, Lord's

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE