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Cape Town - Former captain Steve Waugh has rejoined Australia as a mentor ahead of the fourth Ashes Test match that starts at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
The former Aussie skipper spent the first month of the Ashes tour with the Australia side but travelled home after the second Test at Lord's.
Australia coach Justin Langer confirmed how keen Waugh was to return to the setup.
Langer told Sky Sports: "Steve was actually going to fly home, do the function and fly back the next day.
"That's how much he's enjoying it. He's been like a kid at Christmas.
"To come back after such a long time away from the game, his passion and enthusiasm has been brilliant and it's going to be great."
Waugh also held mentoring positions at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games with Australian teams.
Legends including Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting and Mitchell Johnson have also held mentoring positions with Australia in the past.
"They have they got a great presence within the group but they're great psychologists as well. They've been in the cauldron, they've seen it before," said Langer.
"To have your guys learning from people of that calibre is very important short-term, but longer term there's huge value in that."
Langer hinted not having Waugh during the third Test at Headingley could have affected the result: "Would he have made a difference in those last 60-70 runs? Who knows?"
Play is set to get underway on Wednesday at 12:00 SA time.
- TeamTalk
