After cutting down on finances for a year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cricket Australia announced that Michael Di Venuto and Jeff Vaughan were appointed assistant coaches for the men's national team.

The duo will be joining the Australian head coach Justin Langer’s coaching staff on a full-time basis ahead of a busy summer in Australian cricket which consists of the home Ashes series, a one-off Test against Afghanistan, and white-ball matches against New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

The 47-year-old Di Venuto who has played nine ODIs for Australia and played 336 First Class, 302 List A, and 54 T20 matches, also had a stint with the Australian cricket team as a batting coach before leading Surrey to its first English County title in 16 years in 2018.

“I have spent some time around the group over the last month and really enjoyed being back with them,” Di Venuto said.

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Vaughan, on the other hand, represented South Australia in 28 First Class and 24 List A matches. The 47-year-old was appointed head coach of Tasmania's Marsh Sheffield Shield and Marsh One-Day Cup teams in 2020,  andfeels that joining the Australian national team is the highlight of his career to date.

“Joining the Australian men's Team as Assistant Coach is the highlight of my career to date and I look forward to contributing to the success of the squad," Vaughan said.

Australia’s head coach Justin Langer was excited to have the duo getting involved and was looking forward to working with them.

“They are outstanding coaches and leaders in their respective fields. They will add so much expertise and value to this group. We are very excited to have them both on board," Langer added.

(With PTI Inputs)