The Aussies bring in Graeme Hick as their new batting coach.
Cricket Australia have announced that former England international Graeme Hick will be their new batting coach.
Hick will be brought in to try and inject some Test quality into an Australian side made up of players weened on Twenty20 cricket.
The five-day game requires a completely different approach than the slap-dash nature of Twenty20, with batsmen needing to be more patient and choose their shots more carefully.
After a 4-0 whitewash in India, which saw skipper Michael Clarke score the only century for the tourists in eight innings, the Australian side is considered to be too weak heading into the Ashes.
Hick brings a wealth of experience with him after playing 65 Tests for England through the 90s and early 00s, scoring six centuries in a career that was often considered unfulfilled on the international stage.
Yet at first-class level few could rival the Englishman when he had a bat in his hand and it’s this form that has persuaded CA to bring Hick in as a coach.
Since the 46-year-old’s retirement in 2008 he hasn’t featured in any capacity in the game, but he’s been brought right to the top for his first job as Australia aim to become a Test force once again.
Hick is perhaps most remembered for his remarkable 405 not-out he scored for Worcestershire against Somerset in 1988.
Australia’s squad for the upcoming Ashes in the summer is set to be announced on Wednesday, despite the first Test at Trent Bridge on July 10 still being over 12 weeks away.
The match at Nottingham will be the first time the Aussies have appeared in a five-day match since defeat in Delhi in March.
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