Inverarity new Aussie national selector

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John Inverarity, who coached Warwickshire and Kent, has been appointed Australia's new full-time national selector, taking over from Andrew Hilditch

Cricket Australia has announced former Test player John Inverarity as their new full-time national selector.

The 57-year-old Western Australian, who made six appearances in the Baggy Green, replaces Andrew Hilditch, who is stepping down as part-time selector having declared himself unavailable for a full-time position in the job.

A successful Sheffield Shield captain with his home state, Inverarity went on to coach in England with Warwickshire and Kent, and will start his new job by selecting the Australia squad for the December Test against New Zealand.

“I have had a great passion for cricket for many years and have found my involvement in the game as a player, a coach, a mentor and an observer hugely rewarding,” Inverarity, a former teacher, said.

“In both cricket and education I have been driven to build positive and high quality cultures.

“I have a keen interest in working with people of diverse talents and backgrounds and assisting both individuals and the group as a whole to perform to their potential.

“I was involved in team selection for much of my playing career and during my time coaching county cricket. As captain of Western Australia, I had the privilege of working closely with Lawrie Sawle, who did an outstanding job as chairman of selectors during much of the 80s and 90s.”

Inverarity is the second major appointment recommended by the Australian Team Performance Review panel which came into being after last winter’s Ashes hammering by England.

Pat Howard was this month installed as general team manager, and the search is now on for a number of part-time selectors.

A statement from Cricket Australia also confirmed that the process of recruiting a new head coach to replace Tim Nielsen had been “accelerated” following Howard’s appointment.

Chief executive James Sutherland believes Inverarity’s mix of a cricketing and educational background will stand him in good stead.

“This is a role that requires deep high performance cricket experience and knowledge, outstanding leadership and communication skills, personal integrity and an insight into what is needed to encourage the best performance outcomes from young athletes,” Sutherland said.

“John Inverarity has been an outstanding contributor to cricket as a captain, player, coach, selector and mentor in Australia and in England, and his insights into the game, its players and their development is without parallel.

Wally Edwards, right, who like Inverarity played for Australia and hails from Subiaco, Perth, has taken over from Jack Clarke as Cricket Australia chairman

“His achievements outside cricket as an exceptional educator of young people were a significant value-add when Pat Howard and I sat down to finalise this critical appointment.”

The Cricket Australia board also confirmed that their two captains - Michael Clarke (Test and one-day international) and Cameron White (Twenty20) - should be on the selection panel for their respective formats, on a day when Wally Edwards was named as the organisation's new chairman.

Like Inverarity, Edwards hails from Subiaco, Perth. He made three Test appearances and replaces the retiring Jack Clarke.