Andrew McDonald Appointed Head Coach of Australia

Cricket Australia have announced that Andrew McDonald has signed a four-year contract to be their new permanent head coach. He will oversee the men’s teams in all three formats of the game.

McDonald will be very familiar with the players as he has been in the coaching setup since 2019. He worked under Justin Langer who departed earlier this year after rejecting a contract extension.

Australia have had a lot of success in the Langer era, and they will be hoping this will be a smooth transition. They defeated England 4-0 in the Ashes back in January, lifted the T20 World Cup for the first time in 2021 and they also rose back up to number one in the ICC Test rankings.

McDonald was handed the job on an interim basis when Langer left, and he has done enough to impress Cricket Australia. His side came away from Pakistan with a 1-0 series victory on their most recent tour. 

The former Victoria and Melbourne Renegades coach picked up four caps for his country in the Test arena, so his experience as a player and assistant coach should help him in his new role, which is one of the biggest sports jobs in the world.

McDonald Likely to Give More Responsibility to Cummins

The new Australia head coach has claimed that he wants the Test team to fall more under the hands of captain Pat Cummins than himself. That was the case in Pakistan, and it proved to be successful. They won their first Test series in an Asian country since 2011.

Australia will take on Sri Lanka next and they will be looking to successfully follow up with another victory in Asia. McDonald has a lot of confidence in his captain, who is proving to be popular with the players.

McDonald is a very different coach to his predecessor. There were reports of a lot of discontent from the leading players in the dressing room with Langer’s leadership style. They are thought to be happy with the choice Cricket Australia have made.

Australia Favorites to Defend T20 World Cup on Home Soil

One of the first big tests for McDonald will be the T20 World Cup later this year. Australia are the +300 favorites with some bookmakers for that tournament. They are amongst England and India as the three most likely winners according to the oddsmakers.

Given they will be playing at home, Australia are likely to be one of the cricket betting tips for the tournament. Experts tend to take into account factors such as squad and teams news, pitch conditions and ground dimensions. All three of those should be in the hosts’ favor.

Australia have been drawn in the same group as England, New Zealand and Afghanistan. Only two teams will progress from the group into the knockout stages of the tournament. It means the defending champions will need to be at their best from the start of the competition.

McDonald has a tough act to follow in Langer. He will be hoping to build upon the great work his predecessor made in what is an exciting period in Australian cricket.