Will Waqar be Australia's next bowling coach?
Waqar has spoken to CA’s team performance manager Pat Howard about taking on the role.
Melbourne (The Telegraph): Cricket Australia (CA) has interviewed former Pakistan captain and coach Waqar Younis as Craig McDermott’s successor for the position of Australian bowling coach.
According to a website, Waqar, who is based in Sydney since finishing his two-year term as Pakistan coach last year, has spoken to CA’s team performance manager Pat Howard about taking on the role that was left vacant by McDermott at the conclusion of Australia’s tour of the West Indies.
Australia’s search for a bowling coach will not be easy as most of the probable candidates are already tied to other national teams or unwilling to commit to the travel pressures of the job.
David Saker, Allan Donald, Joe Dawes and Damien Wright are all employed at international level, while the likes of Andy Bichel and Damien Fleming have said they are unwilling to devote as much time to the job as required by CA, said the website.
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Another possible candidate, Jason Gillespie, is in his first season as the coach of Yorkshire, while Ali de Winter, who ran McDermott close for the position in 2011, is thought to be enjoying his expanded role in Tasmania as assistant coach of the Tigers and head coach of the Hobart Hurricanes Twenty20 team.
As a part-time member of the selection panel, Bichel saw the improvement McDermott brought to the team, and has said his preference would be for a mentor with proven international pedigree. “With so many young guys coming through the system, I think you need someone who has played international cricket and who can teach them the stuff in the middle more than the technical stuff, how to get people out. That was one of the great bonuses with Craig,” Bichel was quoted as saying.
Waqar has been refreshed by 10 months off cricket’s global caravan. He cited personal and health reasons — both for himself and his wife — when he exited the Pakistan coaching job, but has actively sought a return to coaching with Australia.
