Coach to be named ahead of UK tour

Cricket Australia has confirmed that a decision on who will replace Darren Lehmann as coach of the national men’s team will be finalised "in coming weeks", ahead of the next on-field commitment and before the concurrent reviews announced recently have been completed.

The CA Board met in Melbourne on Friday, and discussed the process through which a new coach, as well as captain and deputy of men’s ODI outfit will be named prior to the team’s next playing engagement, which is the Qantas Tour to England in early June.

Board chair David Peever said recommendations for preferred candidates to fill those leadership positions will be sought from CA, with those names expected to be ratified and then publicly announced.

"The Board has asked management to provide recommendations regarding candidates for the Men’s Head Coach, ODI Captain and ODI Vice-Captain," Peever said in a statement released after today’s meeting.

"The Board is anticipating receiving these recommendations in the coming weeks, with a view to making appointments ahead of the ODI Tour to the UK.

"Once these appointments have been endorsed and finalised, announcements can then be made."

Wicketkeeper Tim Paine has already been confirmed as Test captain for the immediate future, however his involvement in the upcoming five ODI and one T20I England campaign remains unclear.

At a media conference in Hobart on Thursday, Paine reiterated that his captaincy appointment applies to the Test format only, which has prompted speculation that experienced limited-overs specialists such as Aaron Finch and George Bailey might be in the reckoning for the short-form role.

Former Test players Justin Langer, Jason Gillespie and Ricky Ponting have all been mentioned as potential candidates to replace Lehmann, with all of them serving in consultant coaching roles with the national men’s team in the past year or more.

The suspension of former captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town last month, coupled with the resultant resignation of Lehmann as coach, has prompted the need for the radical leadership revamp.

It also led CA to commission a wide-ranging independent review into cultural, organisational and governance issues in cricket following the Cape Town incident.

Part of that process will see a four-person panel, chaired by ex-Test batsman Rick McCosker, look to create a charter to set out standards for improved player behaviour and expectations of the Australian men's national side. 

The two review processes have been slated to run in tandem, although no set deadline has yet been set for recommendations to be made to the CA Board.