5 interesting facts about Darren Lehmann 

Darren Lehmann is a former batting all-rounder who represented Australia in ODIs and Tests between 1996-2007. He was a part of two World Cup winning squads (1999, 2003). Soon after retiring, Lehmann tried his hand at coaching.

He coached IPL teams Deccan Chargers (2009-2012) and King X| Punjab (2013). He also coached KFC Big Bash's (2010/11) Queensland side. His performance as a coach and his man-management skills were lauded by one and all in the cricket fraternity, and not without reason.

As a result of this, he was made the head coach of the Australian Cricket Team in 2013, replacing Mickey Arthur.

Here is a list of 5 interesting facts about Darren Lehmann:

#1 Factory worker at Holden car manufacturers

Lehmann joined Holden car manufacturers (Elizabeth, South Australia) to work on the assembly line at the age of 16. As per Adelaide Now's report, he earned around 250 AUD per week. Working conditions were harsh as the assembly line temperatures reached 40-50 degrees on some days.

In an interview with The Advertiser, Lehmann said - "When temperatures soared to 50 degrees, me or one of my mates would slip in an automatic gearbox into a manual car, halting the production for a few minutes. These few minutes allowed the staff to breathe in the fresh air under a tree outside."

He was so much in love with the factory's work and its life that he declined selection to the Australian Centre of Excellence.

#2 When brother-in-law Craig White wore Lehmann's shoes

Lehmann and White were Yorkshire teamates

During Lehmann's stint with Yorkshire, where English all-rounder Craig White was his teammate, he met White's sister Andrea. White played cupid between Andrea and Lehmann and they got married in 1999. Given his bulk, the Aussie reportedly had a tough time convincing Andrea that he was a professional cricketer.

In a match between Australia and England, Craig walked out to bat wearing a pair of shoes which Lehmann had misplaced a few months earlier. Lehmann was quick to recognize his shoes. On enquiring, Craig said that he was given the shoes by Andrea.

Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne sledged Craig incessantly after they became aware of the situation.

#3 A die-hard Liverpool fan

Darren Lehmann is an ardent follower of Premier League club Liverpool. But this fidelity toward the club landed him in a soup in August 2015. Hours after Australia's humiliating Ashes loss, Lehmann tried to fish for a ticket to a Premier League match between Liverpool and Stoke on Twitter.

This enraged the Australian fans, who were still trying to cope with the Ashes loss and Michael Clarke's retirement announcement. Being the head coach this kind of disregardful behavior was not expected out of him.

Here is the tweet for which he was trolled massively :

Would like to go to Stoke v Liverpool with a couple of people anyone help? @stokecity or @LFC can you please retweet .

— Darren Lehmann (@darren_lehmann) August 8, 2015

#4 His nickname - Boof

Lehmann was nicknamed 'boof' by Johnny Giannetto

Johnny Giannetto is Lehmann's childhood friend. Both played under-age football for Gawler Central. He gave Lehmann the nickname Boof during their high school days. They were having some fun on the football field when Lehmann called him 'The Golden Greek' thinking that Johnny was a Greek (he is actually Italian). Johnny's immediate reaction to this was shouting out 'boofhead'.

Boofhead soon became 'boof'. It is an Australian slang which means a big-headed, simple-minded or sometimes a little stupid person. 'Boofhead' is a commonly used nickname in Australian culture.

When Lehmann was appointed as the Australia's head coach, the entire Gawler community wished him saying - "Boofy do alright".

He is also nicknamed 'Shrek' by the fans purely because of his resemblance to the character.

#5 A dangerous bouncer

In the 1988/89 domestic season, South Australia (SA) had slumped to the bottom of the table. Barry Richards, the coach for SA at the time, thought of giving a chance to the 18-year old Lehmann, at WACA sports stadium, Perth, known for its steep bounce.

While playing a match against Western Australia, Lehmann was smacked with a bouncer on the right temple by left-arm fast bowler Bruce Reid.

He lost consciousness and also stopped breathing for a brief time. Fortunately, he regained consciousness soon. Western Australia's James Brayshaw was fielding at short leg when this happened.

Recalling the incident, he said that everyone was very stressed about Lehmann's health for those few minutes and on edge.