Justin Langer appointed Australia's batting coach

New Delhi:

Former Australian opener Justin Langer has been appointed national team's batting coach, Cricket Australian announced on Monday.

Langer will help Tim Nielsen's coaching team as a batting coach and in a mentoring capacity.

Langer, who played 105 Test matches with a batting average of 45.27 and retired from Test cricket in January 2007, will work with the Test squad for the majority of the upcoming Test season.

Langer has recently retired from first-class cricket with Somerset. He captained Somerset for three years and took them from the bottom of the second division of the County Championship to be one of the most competitive teams in England and helped them qualify for the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 tournament this year.

"Justin Langer will join the Australian Test squad and provide specialist skills in assisting the batters prepare for Test match cricket. He ll also develop plans to assist players cope with the rigours of the Test match game," said CA official Michael Brown.

"We are thrilled to have a player of Justin s experience working with the Test team. Justin was renowned for his professional approach to preparation and his commitment to play for his country. He will help many young players as our team continues to develop," Brown said.

Langer said he was excited about the job when asked to comment on his appointment.

"When CA approached me about this appointment, I felt privileged to be considered. I have been passionate about Australian cricket for many years so I am excited about playing a 'hands on' role in the continued development of the Test team, particularly in the batting and leadership departments," Langer said.

"Having just retired as a player I can think of no better apprenticeship in coaching than to work with Ricky and Tim and the Australian Cricket Team," he added.