Cooley to coach Oz in SA

Melbourne - Australia have appointed bowling mentor Troy Cooley as interim head coach for their upcoming tour of South Africa following Tim Nielsen's resignation last week, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Tuesday.

Cooley, 45, was replaced as bowling coach in May by former Test paceman Craig McDermott but has overseen talent development at CA's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Brisbane.

Cooley previously acted as Australia's head coach when he took up the role for the last three one-day matches during Australia's 6-1 away series victory over England in 2009.

He helped coach England's bowlers to victory over Australia in the 2005 Ashes before being lured back home and helped Ricky Ponting's side exact revenge with a 5-0 whitewash in the following 2006/07 series.

"I've got a pretty good, close relationship with all the players and also the coaching staff there," Cooley told reporters on a conference call.

"I'm pretty confident that we can make sure that we can keep progressing along the lines that (captain) Michael (Clarke) wants to keep progressing.

"There's a lot of work still to do but the signs are good and I just hope that I can come in and make sure that we continue to keep going forward."

CA general manager of cricket Michael Brown said in a statement Cooley would not be applying for the job permanently.

Nielsen announced his resignation at the end of Australia's 1-0 Test series victory over hosts Sri Lanka, weeks after recommendations from a comprehensive review into Australian cricket were released.

The team performance review, conducted in the wake of Australia's galling 3-1 home defeat to England in the Ashes, recommended the appointment of a head coach with expanded powers as a selector.

Nielsen, who had signed a three-year contract extension months before the Ashes series, declined to re-apply for the head coach position saying the review had made his continued involvement difficult.

Australia, ranked fourth in world Test rankings, will play two Tests in Cape Town and Johannesburg in November against second-ranked South Africa following five limited overs matches.

Cooley said he would be unlikely to embrace his selection powers to the fullest, having been out of the international frame for much of the year.

"I'll be taking a lot of advice of course, obviously not being in that area I'll be leaving that up to the selectors, who have been working in that area for quite some time," he added.

One area of discussion would be the selection of a Twenty20 wicketkeeper. Brad Haddin announced his retirement from the format last week to concentrate on Tests and one-day matches, while his stand-in Tim Paine has been ruled out of the South Africa tour with a finger injury.

Cooley suggested 33-year-old Haddin might be persuaded to fill the breach for South Africa.

"That's something we'll probably talk about once selectors get round the table," he said.