Philander to coach Pakistan at World Cup

Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja has been elected the new chair of the Pakistan Cricket Board for a tenure of three years after winning an unopposed election, the country’s cricket board announced on Monday.

Raja also announced that former SA all-rounder Vernon Philander and former Australian opener Matthew Hayden were signed up as bowling coach and head coach respectively for the Twenty20 World Cup that begins in October.

Hayden and Philander replace Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis after both coaches stepped down from their respective roles shortly after the World Cup squad was named last week.

“Hayden is Australian, I feel he can bring some aggression into the team. He has World Cup experience, he was a worldclass player,” Raja told reporters. “An Australian occupying the dressing room will have a lot of benefits.

“This Pakistan team can win the World Cup, it just needs an improvement of 10%.”

Raja, who played more than 250 international matches for Pakistan from 1984 to 1997, replaces Ehsan Mani who stepped down from his role in August.