Lehmann impresses Warne and Hussain

Cricket365
November 24, 2013

Former leg-spinner Shane Warne lauded the positive influence of head coach Darren Lehmann, after Australia secured a thorough 381-run triumph over England on day four of the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday.

Fine centuries from opener David Warner and skipper Michael Clarke and a Man of the Match haul of nine wickets from fast bowler Mitchell Johnson afforded the hosts a crucial one-nil lead in the five-match affair.

Lehmann, who succeeded the ousted Mickey Arthur, welcomed a maiden victory in the Ashes series – after enduring a three-nil defeat in the United Kingdom earlier this year.

"Towards the end of the Ashes series you just started to see the guys smile a bit more and that was Darren's influence," Warne told <i>Sky Sports</i>.

"He was a guy who liked to have fun – he wasn't hard about the massive preparations and all that sort of stuff. Some of the things he has brought in, in combination with Clarke, has been fantastic.

"If you have a happy dressing room and you're a happy cricketer, it shows out on the field. "This one for Australia was important – to be in the contest they had to win the Test match."

Erstwhile English skipper Nasser Hussain, meanwhile, echoed Warne's sentiment – and acknowledged the importance of Warner's successful gameplan against spinner Graeme Swann.

Warner was consistently aggressive en route to 124 from just 154 balls, 13 boundaries and a solitary six included – and deployed attacking footwork and shot selection to the slow bowler.

"A lot of it has to do with the opposition. The confidence and the togetherness are unrecognisable from the team we saw in England, thanks to Lehmann," added Hussain.

"The tactics of the skipper were very good on the field, they looked like they were playing as a unit – Warner played Swann brilliantly. There are a lot of ticks in that Australia side, and not so many in the England side."