Darren Lehmann's contract extended to 2017

Darren Lehmann

Australian cricket coach Darren Lehmann has signed an extension to his contract and will now stay with the team till the end of June 2017.

The former left-handed batsman joined the team in turbulent times last year, when Australia had failed to make the Champions Trophy semi-final first and then had their coach Mickey Arthur sacked, days before the start of another Ashes campaign in England.

Turnaround after Lehmann took charge

However, positive results since his appointment have meant that the 44-year-old now has got 3 more years with the team instead of two. The move came after both Lehmann and Cricket Australia had a chance to look back on a successful home and away season, where the Aussies first hammered England 5-0 at home and then beat South Africa 2-1 away.

"After the [World] T20 in Bangladesh we had some time off, reflection time to see where we needed to improve more so than anything else.It was an up-and-down 12 months. It was a great back end obviously, but we certainly changed the way we went about things on and off the ground. From our point of view we've made strides but we're also looking to improve." Lehmann said.

Lehmann also got a word of praise about his style of coaching from team manager Pat Howard.

"We have been extremely pleased with the results Darren has achieved with the team since he came on board. He has helped create an excellent team environment that has seen players thrive,” Howard said.

"We want that to continue so we used the winter period to work through an extension to his current contract. Importantly it provides continuity for the team and certainty for Darren heading into a critical period for Australian cricket."

United Australian team

Lehmann went on to give credit to his success to the togetherness within the group and how there are some great people who are involved with the game, at the moment.

"I think the togetherness of the group as a whole, support staff and players, the way we all get on so well with the families and look after each other outside the game. They're all really talented cricketers and we've got some great people involved in the game. That's been the biggest stride," the South Australian said.

Lehmann seems to have brought back the aggressive style of play which the Aussies were famous for earlier. He said the job has been less hectic because captains across the three formats have also been dynamic in their approach.

"I was quite an aggressive player myself and I've got a captain [Michael Clarke] who is quite aggressive. George [Bailey] is aggressive, Finchy is aggressive, so with Clarke it makes it quite a bit easier to implement an aggressive plan. That's the pleasing thing is the captains have been on board and that's what you need," he said.

Overseas performances need improvement

The prime focus for both Lehmann and captain Michael Clarke remains the improvement of their performance overseas.

"We've certainly got to improve our skill level away from home.We did that well in South Africa. But it's only the start of the tour here away and we didn't have the result in Zimbabwe we would have liked. So we've got to keep improving away from home, first and foremost," Lehmann added.

Australia play a two-match Test series versus Pakistan that starts in Dubai on Wednesday.