Former Australian coach Darren Lehmann rules out return to coaching a Test nation

Darren Lehmann has come back to the Brisbane Heat after leading them to a championship win in BBL02. But he has ruled out ever returning to the hotseat.

Darren Lehmann won’t coach another Test side. Picture: Pic Mark Cranitch.

Darren Lehmann has ruled out coaching another Test nation and says he can find the balance to make the Brisbane Heat a Big Bash League title contender.

Lehmann has returned to the Heat this summer after guiding the BBL franchise to its only championship win in 2012-13.

The former Australian Test batsman has replaced Daniel Vettori after the New Zealander only managed 10 wins in 24 games over the past two tournaments.

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Darren Lehmann has returned to coach the Heat for BBL09. Picture: AAP image, John Gass

Lehmann, 49, coached Australia from 2013-18, winning Ashes series and a World Cup before his tenure ended after the infamous ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

The Heat will begin their BBL09 campaign against the Sydney Thunder at the Gabba on Tuesday night.

For Lehmann, a Brisbane local, the energy of a BBL campaign has been a welcome change from the demands of international coaching.

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“It’s great fun, I’m a cricket nuffie so why wouldn’t it be fun?,” he said.

“They’ve got to enjoy it, play well and the rest will look after itself.

“I’ve been relaxing and enjoying the game. It’s a really stressful time being the Australian coach.

“Five years was great fun, the best job in the world. But it’s nice to be back into a more relaxed atmosphere and really enjoying the game.”

Darren Lehmann quit as Australian coach after the ball-tampering scandal. Picture: AFP

It is not uncommon for ex-players to coach rival countries, such as Australian Trevor Bayliss looking after England and South African Mickey Arthur as a former coach of Australia.

But Lehmann was adamant he would not be returning to the taxing world of Test coaching.

“No, I just want to do this satellite coaching,” he said.

“I live in Brisbane and the Heat gave me the first opportunity almost 10 years ago.

“I’ve come back to do a bit for them, then I’ve got the 100-ball competition (The Hundred) in England. That will keep me busy enough.

“It’s too much being away 300 days a year. It’s too hard to do it for a long period of time. I had five years of it.”

The Heat have always promised to play an aggressive brand of cricket, with batters like Chris Lynn, Max Bryant and Ben Cutting going hard from the outset.

But it’s also been their downfall at times when some more intelligent play could have delivered victories instead of all-guns-blazing losses.

“There needs to be a balance both ways,” Lehmann said.

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“You want them to play with that freedom but also have the responsibility along the way.

“That’s the fine balance between going gung-ho and understanding the match scenario. Hopefully they get that balance this year.

“We still want to encourage them to play a free brand of cricket, but also understand the match scenario is important.

“You don’t want to win or lose a game in 15 overs – you want to make sure you’re in the game for a long period of time and more often than not you’ll end up winning.

“We think we can get it right. They’re all good kids and have been listening well.

“There needs to be a few minor tweaks. If we do that and get the match scenarios right and match-ups right, we will be fine.”

Lehmann has signed a two-year deal with the Heat and played a key role in securing the signature of South African superstar AB de Villiers for the back end of the tournament.