Australia cricket coach Darren Lehmann said yesterday he was hopeful he would be given medical clearance to join his team’s Test tour of New Zealand as he recovers from deep vein thrombosis.
Lehmann was replaced by batting coach Michael Di Venuto for Australia’s three-match Twenty20 series against India that ended yesterday, as well as the team’s one-day international tour of New Zealand, with matches taking place on February 3, 6 and 8.
The Test matches will be played in New Zealand on February 12 and 20.
“Obviously (I’m) still recovering from the DVT, but for me it’s just about hopefully getting medical clearance later on in the week and see where we go from there and join the New Zealand group,” Lehmann told reporters in Sydney.
He added that he hoped to join the squad “on the weekend”. “But until medical clearance comes through to fly, I’ll have to wait and see. But I’m feeling a lot better. I’ve had some good care and it’s been a nice relaxing week, although watching us not play so well (in the T20s against India) hasn’t been that relaxing.”
Lehmann said one of the difficulties the T20 squad faced was that the players did not play together often.
“We’ve only played four games in the last 18 months, and we’ve lost three of them,” he said. “They don’t play that often together, scheduling is always a tough one for us, we’re obviously getting prepared for New Zealand which is an important tour as well.
“The World T20 is just around the corner, so you’ve got to find the best solution somewhere, so we’re got some guys in New Zealand, some guys here, we’re rewarding good performances in the BBL and having a look at some young guys.
“So it’s a tough one, but we’re really confident where we are going with the World T20, although obviously the two results don’t help.”
India won the first T20 match on Tuesday in Adelaide by 37 runs and the second match in Melbourne on Friday by 27 runs, giving the tourists an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-game series, before winning the final game in Sydney yesterday by seven wickets.