3 Australia captains who became coaches ft. Ricky Ponting
Former Australia captain Tim Paine is all set to kickstart his coaching tenure as he was announced as the assistant coach for the Adelaide Strikers for the upcoming 2023-24 Big Bash League (BBL) season.
The 13th season of the Big Bash League will start on December 7 and the opening match will take place between Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars at The Gabba in Brisbane.
Tasmanian-born Tim Paine, who captained his country in 23 Tests was part of the Hobart Hurricanes and also led them 25 times. He is part of a long list of Australian captains who have gone on to become coaches across the world.
Here we take a look at three Australia captains who became coaches:
#3 Michael Hussey
Michael Hussey was named Australia’s captain in 2006 due to the rotational strategy and with Ricky Ponting being rested. He then was named captain once again during the Chappell–Hadlee Trophy. This came about as the selectors chose to rest captain Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Adam Gilchrist.
Hussey has also been involved with the Chennai Super Kings as their assistant/batting coach for a while now. He was the batting coach for the senior men's England Cricket team and presently holds the position of head coach for the Welsh Fire men's team.
#2 Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting led Australia between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket, while he was the captain in One Day Internationals (ODIs) from 2002 to 2011. He holds the record for being the most successful captain in international cricket history, securing 220 wins in 324 matches, and boasting an impressive success rate of 67.91%.
One of the greatest batters to ever play the game, Ponting was always known to have sharp tactical acumen and hence, it was quite a smooth transition when he dabbled into coaching. He coached the Mumbai Indians of the Indian Premier League from 2014 to 2016. In 2017, he was named an interim coach for Australia's T20I series against Sri Lanka.
After his stint with the Mumbai Indians, Ponting was appointed coach of Delhi Capitals (then Daredevils) in 2018. He is presently with the Delhi Capitals in the IPL.
#1 Greg Chappell
During the 1975-76 season, Greg Chappell asserted absolute dominance, accumulating 1547 runs in first-class cricket at an impressive average of 85.9. He was then appointed Australian captain and began in an emphatic manner. He scored centuries in both innings, securing victory in his first Test as skipper against the West Indies.
Under his captaincy, Australia won 21 out of 48 Test matches. He was also quite infamous for the underarm bowling controversy.
After his retirement, he was appointed coach for South Australia and served the side for five years. In 2004, he was also appointed a consultant at Pakistan's National Cricket Academy.
In May 2005, he was appointed head coach of the Indian national cricket team. This was a two-year term until the World Cup 2007. He had considerable success with the side, but his relationship with the senior players soured. India were knocked out of the 2007 World Cup in the first round and Chappell’s tenure came to an end.