Adam Griffith named as national assistant coach for upcoming cricket World Cup in England

UPDATED: The lure of being involved in a blockbuster Ashes series was not enough for Adam Griffith to step away from his post as Tasmania’s head coach.

UPDATED: THE lure of being involved in a blockbuster Ashes series was not enough for Adam Griffith to step away from his post as Tasmania’s head coach.

Griffith will return to the national set-up — he was involved on the 2016 tour of the West Indies — as an assistant coach for the upcoming World Cup, reuniting with Justin Langer who he worked under at Western Australia.

However despite a potential opportunity to remain in the frame for the Ashes series on English soil, Griffith does not want to miss an extended period of the Tigers 2019-20 pre-season.

Fellow Tasmanian Troy Cooley will join the Australian coaching staff for the Ashes, having been appointed the bowling coach for the ODI tours of India and UAE.

“It wasn’t really on my radar and then when I looked at the timings it meant I wouldn’t miss too much of our pre-season here,” Griffith said.

“I thought I would put my hand up and lucky enough to get the opportunity.

“We always want our players to perform and do the best they can and get promoted and go up through the ranks and play at the highest possible level – it is the same as a coach.

“With all our coaching staff and high performance staff, we want them to be doing a really good job and get identified to move up through the ranks.

“I am no different, but at the moment I am really happy here in Tasmania and we have got a lot of work still to do with the program and I will focus on that and see what happens down the track.

“At this stage it is just for the World Cup, I am really focused on Tasmanian cricket.”

Griffith will miss the first five to six weeks of Tasmania’s pre-season, with assistant and batting coach Jeff Vaughn to take the reins.

He said rejoining the Australian ranks for a major tournament was exciting, especially with the country turning around its fortunes with a series win in India and going up 2-0 against Pakistan.

“It is exciting more than anything for me, they are playing some great cricket at the moment, they are on a real good run and the momentum is really building in the group.

“That is the exciting thing as well.”

Cricket Australia interim executive general manager, team performance, Belinda Clark said the peak body will review the coaching structure at the completion of the Ashes.

Tasmanian Tigers coach Adam Griffith. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

EARLIER: TASMANIA might have come up empty-handed for a second consecutive season under Adam Griffith, but the state’s improvement has helped him land a national gig.

Griffith will reunite with Justin Langer — who he worked under for six years at Western Australia before accepting the Tigers head coaching role — after being named as an assistant coach for the upcoming World Cup.

It is a huge coup for Griffith, who in his two years at the helm of his home state has turned the program around.

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Tasmanian Tigers coach Adam Griffith. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

While the trophy cupboard remains bare, the Tigers reached the Sheffield Shield final last season and were firmly in the mix to repeat the dose with two matches remaining in 2018-19, lost the One Day Cup final this season and in the past two Big Bash campaigns have finished runner-up and third, having secured the minor premiership in BBL|08.

Griffith does have previous experience in the national set-up, having been an assistant on the 2016 tour of the West Indies.

Australia’s hopes of winning back to back World Cups have improved dramatically in the past few weeks following a comeback 3-2 series win over India in India, followed by consecutive victories against Pakistan in the UAE.