CA appoints Graeme Hick as High Performance Coach

Melbourne: Former Zimbabwe and England batsman Graeme Hick has been appointed at the High Performance Coach of the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence.

Hick will be based at the CA Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. Hick fills the role vacated by former Australian Test player Stuart Law, who took up the position as head coach at Queensland Cricket following Darren Lehmann`s departure in June to take up the Australian men`s team head coaching role. "Graeme is a highly regarded former international batsman who has been a consultant coach this past winter working with our AIS scholars. It is fantastic that we could secure his services full-time," CA Executive General Manager -- Team Performance, Pat Howard said in a statement. "His main role will be working with our development teams including Australia A, Under-19 players and those in our current pathway system. He will also provide a dedicated batting resource to all state players and Australian players who come through the Centre of Excellence at any time during the year. He will work closely with the state coaches in this regard. "Graeme knows what it takes to compete at the top level and has had many years experience playing in different conditions, which will be vital to the development of our young batters," he said. "He will complement the specialist skills with Troy Cooley and Tim Coyle who are responsible for our fast bowling and fielding programs respectively, as well as all national coaching staff in our pathway system including Darren Lehmann," Howard added. On his appointment, Hick said: "Over the years I have developed a huge amount of respect for Australian cricket and the Baggy Green. "I am excited about the chance to work with Australia`s young talent and being able to assist in their growth and development." Hick played for Zimbabwe from 1983-1985 before moving to England to pursue a career as a professional cricketer. He first played for England in 1991, playing 65 Tests before retiring in 2001. PTI