Harris, Elliot to groom Gen Next of Australian cricket

Retired Test paceman Ryan Harris will be tasked with developing Australia's next generation of fast bowlers as high performance coach at the National Cricket Centre academy in Brisbane, Cricket Australia confirmed on Tuesday.

Queenslander Harris, who took 113 wickets in 27 Tests for Australia before retiring in 2015, will be joined in Brisbane by Matthew Elliot after the former Test batsman was named high performance coach in charge of batting programs for youth teams.

Harris and Elliott replace former high performance coach Graeme Hick, who last year was appointed the Australia men’s team’s batting coach, CA said.

"We have undertaken a thorough process to find the best coaches to mentor Australia's emerging talent and we are extremely excited to have both Matthew and Ryan joining," CA executive general manager Pat Howard said.

"Both ... have a strong understanding of the challenges that lie ahead in developing Australian cricketers to be ready for first-class and international cricket," added.

The pair start work next week. Their first assignment will be leading Australia's under-19 side in a home series against Sri Lanka in April, with Elliott to coach the team and Harris his assistant.

Image: Former Australian Test paceman Ryan Harris has a new task at hand

Photograph: Getty Images