Nielsen takes new role with South Australia

Tim Nielsen will switch his focus to developing young cricketers in his home state of South Australia after quitting as coach of the national team. Nielsen will head up the newly-created Emerging Redbacks Program, which will allow him to return home to Adelaide nearly a decade after he left to become an assistant to John Buchanan with the Australia side.

Nielsen, 43, spent four years as Australia's head coach before he stepped down this week, following the successful Test tour of Sri Lanka. The South Australia coach Darren Berry said Nielsen would provide invaluable experience in his new role, in which he will lead a high-level academy-style program aimed at preparing players for state cricket.

"Tim has clearly travelled the world and coached at the highest level, so to have him involved is going to be another string to our coaching bow," Berry said. "With Jeff Vaughan, Joe Dawes, myself and now Tim Nielsen we believe we have got the best coaching panel in first-class cricket in the country. I can't emphasise enough, how delighted I am that Tim has decided that this is the role that he'd like to take up."

The new program is the brain-child of Jamie Cox, the South Australian Cricket Association director of cricket, who as a national selector has worked closely with Nielsen over the past four years. Cox said he was thrilled that Nielsen had decided to rejoin the SACA.

"I have had a close association with Tim during his time in charge of the Australian team and I have always greatly admired his energy and passion for coaching," Cox said. "We are clearly delighted that the timing of our search for a head coach for the Emerging Redbacks Program has enabled such a high quality candidate to be attracted to the role."

A former wicketkeeper-batsman who played for South Australia for ten years, Nielsen moved into coaching after retirement and began as an assistant with the Redbacks. He was head coach at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane from 2005 to 2007, when he replaced Buchanan at the helm of Australia's side.