Former rugby union international Pat Howard is taking on a top job with Cricket Australia.
Howard's been named general manager of team performance in a newly created role, recommended by a review panel in August after the country's Ashes defeat to England.
The Australia team head coach, captain, chairman of selectors, team manager and centre of excellence manager will all report to Howard.
The 37-year-old represented the Wallabies in 20 Tests during the 1990s and starts his new role in mid-November.
CA chief executive James Sutherland says Howard's strong background in sports, including coaching success with the Leicester Tigers in England and as a high performance GM with the ARU, will help his priority of ensuring all of Australia's high performance cricket programmes dovetail to help produce the best men's and women's teams in the world.
Howard will now play an important role in the appointment of a new head coach following Tim Nielsen's resignation last month after the tour of Sri Lanka.
