Former skipper Ricky Ponting has joined the Australian squad in a coaching role for the upcoming limited-overs series against England.
The man nicknamed ‘Punter’ will assist head coach Justin Langer in his first assignment since taking over the position from Darren Lehmann.
Ponting has only recently returned from the IPL where he oversaw Delhi Daredevils to a bottom-place finish in his first year as the head coach of the franchise. He has previously occupied coaching roles with Mumbai Indians as well as the Australian national in various capacities.
Australia are slated to play five ODIs against England starting from June 13 before playing a sole T20I at Edgbaston to conclude their short tour.
On his part, Langer expressed his delight at working alongside his former team-mate and skipper.
Ponting and Langer have coached together previously for Australia.
“Ricky is one of the greats of the game, and since he was already in England doing some commentary we saw it as a great opportunity to have him join our team for this important series,” he was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
“We have played a lot of cricket together and coached alongside each other previously, and he will also know many of the players already through his work with the team over the past two summers and his BBL commitments.
“Ricky’s knowledge of the game is second-to-none, and we know that his experiences, tactical expertise and leadership will be invaluable for this group, as we start to build a team capable of winning a World Cup in these conditions in a year’s time.”
Ponting had previously assisted Langer for Australia’s T20I series against Sri Lanka in 2017 while also working alongside Lehmann in the Trans-Tasman T20I tri-series in February this year.