Australia appoint Greg Blewett as fielding consultant

Greg Blewett

Melbourne, Aug 14 (IANS) Former Australian all-rounder Greg Blewett was on Thursday appointed by Cricket Australia (CA) to work with the national team as a fielding consultant for the upcoming tours of Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

CA executive general manager team performance Pat Howard said Blewett's appointment followed recent work he had undertaken with the National Performance Squad and Australia A at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane.

"Greg has recently worked with Australia A against India A and completed his level three coaching accreditation. As a player recently out of the game he will provide valuable expertise and advice, building on the good work he has done at the National Cricket Centre with our emerging players," Howard said in a CA release.

Australian coach Darren Lehmann has pioneered the use of specialised consultants working with the team and said he was looking forward to working with his former South Australian teammate.

"Greg was a brilliant fielder in his playing days and he will bring some fresh advice and ideas as well as a new voice for the players to hear from which is important for everyone's development. It will be great to have him on board in Zimbabwe and the UAE," Lehmann said.

Blewett said he had enjoyed working at the National Cricket Centre recently and was looking forward to a stint with the national team as it builds up to a huge summer, which includes the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

"I think Australia has built a good reputation for its fielding over the years and I'm looking forward to maintaining those high standards and hopefully continuing to improve; that's always the goal," Blewett said.

"I'm really excited to be involved, particularly with a World Cup on the horizon and hopefully having some small impact. I'm also looking forward to the opportunity to work with Darren and the other great coaches that are part of the team setup, it should be fun."