Oz team in need of new bowling coach after Cooley gets CA job

SYDNEY - After appointment of Troy Cooley as the head of Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, the Australian team is in need of a new bowling coach.

Cooley, a part of the Australian team since ending a successful stint as England bowling coach in 2006, will take part in the job of finding his replacement during a transitional period in which he will remain with the Australian team until the end of the 2011 World Cup.

“That will be part of my agenda of course to choose a replacement. At the moment we’re keying up to make sure the team is well looked after in the next few months at least while we’ve got these key events happening and then we’ll start to open it up and have a look for the next pace bowling coach,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

England bowling coach David Saker, former Australian quick Jason Gillespie - presently coaching in Zimbabwe - and Cooley’s academy assistant Craig McDermott are among the names likely to be considered for the roaming role.

The best measure of Cooley’s effectiveness can be seen in the rise and fall of England paceman Steve Harmison, who under Cooley became the most feared fast bowler in the world before slipping into oblivion after his departure.

Part of Cooley’s task in his remaining time with the team will be to make sure that Mitchell Johnson, hugely talented but still prone to bouts of self-doubt, does not go the same way.

“Definitely at this level if you’ve got to pass on some information to somebody you’ve got to make sure you’ve got a good relationship with them,” said Cooley. (ANI)