DEAN JONES URGES CRICKET AUSTRALIA TO APPOINT STEVE WAUGH AS TEAM COACH

Dean Jones urges Cricket Australia to appoint Steve Waugh as team coach

The former Australian cricketer, Dean Jones has said that the national team needs the services of former Australia’s middle-order veteran batsman Steve Waugh as its coach to come out of the recent plunging form.

"It's time for Steve Waugh to coach the team and to get Cricket Australia to start employing blokes who have played a bit of international cricket,” said Jones.

Jones urged Cricket Australia’s top management to give the serious coaching job to the candidates who have an experience of playing Test cricket, indirectly criticizing Tim Nielsen’s credentials who never played international cricket though he has a vast experience of first class cricket having played 101 matches for South Australia.

“If they (the team coaches) have never played for Australia, they (the players) get away with it,” said the former top-order batsman of Australia. "All the coaches around Australia have never played for Australia. You have to get tertiary education to be a coach now, but you can't get that qualification if you're too busy being the best (players) in the world," Jones continued his scathing remarks.

The 45-year-old Steve Waugh, who evolved from a raw 20-year-old talented all-rounder into a player who eliminated risk away from his game, played 168 Test matches for Australia compiling 10,927 runs at an average of 51.06. He led the Aussies in 15 of their record 16 consecutive Test victories. He was also the captain of Australia side that lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time in 1999.

Australia faced a humiliating 1-3 crushing at the hands of England in the recently concluded Ashes series losing the urn for the second consecutive time and what was more devastating was that all the three losses the Aussies faced were innings defeat.

The 49-year-old former batsman, who had played 52 Tests for Australia, lashed the shot selection and temperament of a few Aussie batsmen but again held the head coach responsible for such silly mistakes.

"…guys getting out in the last over of the day, all this silly stuff like flashing outside the off stump.”

Jones, however, said that the Ashes defeat at the hands of England was not end of the world for the side as it is part of game.

"Occasionally you've got to look at it and say, 'you're not good enough, lads',” he said. “I don't think we've hit rock bottom yet."