Troy Cooley, who has formerly served as bowling coach of both England and Australia, will stand in as an interim replacement for Australia’s upcoming tours of India and the United Arab Emirates.

Saker’s resignation brings an end to an association that began in 2016. He had worked under Darren Lehmann, alongside Graeme Hick and Brad Haddin, and remained as assistant coach after Lehmann resigned, despite speculation that Justin Langer would bring in his own support staff.

Mitchell Starc ❌
Peter Siddle ❌
Mitchell Marsh ❌

Find out who all have replaced them in Australia’s squad for the upcoming limited-overs tour of India ?https://t.co/c6EtZPMXU0

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 7, 2019

Langer revealed Saker’s role within the team had been a matter of internal discussion in recent months. “David and I have had ongoing discussions over the past nine months about his role with the team, and we agreed it’s the right time to head in a different direction in the best interests of the team,” the head coach said.

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“I’d like to thank David for his significant contribution, in particular in the role he has played in helping develop a core group of Australian pace bowlers. I wish David all the best for the next chapter in his coaching career.”

Saker’s inputs with the ball came under scrutiny recently. There was controversy when, during the Sydney Test against India last month, pacemen Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were openly in disagreement with captain Tim Paine on strategies with the ball.

[caption id=”attachment_97596″ align=”alignnone” width=”1024″] Saker had to admonish his bowlers after they openly disagreed with captain Paine against India[/caption]

That displeased Langer, and Saker had to admonish the bowlers in private, before revealing in public that he had done so.

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It was also curious that Starc, after recovering from a year-long rut with ten wickets in a match against Sri Lanka, credited Andre Adams rather than Saker. “Putting the rest of the coaching and the other 450 coaches I’ve had over the past three weeks to the side and going back to know what I know best,” Starc had said of what finally worked.

“I am my own best coach and I know what’s best for me. I’ve done a bit of work throughout the year with Andre at and it was great to talk to him about getting that feeling back.”

“The Sri Lanka Tests also saw Cummins named as one of Australia’s vice-captains. Of course, their rotating door of leaders has been laughable of late, but it still serves to show the enormity of Cummins’ figure in Australian cricket.”https://t.co/92wv36kzWT

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 6, 2019

Saker, for his part, is looking forward to a break from the sport before pursuing other coaching roles. “I’d like to thank Cricket Australia for the opportunity to help coach the Australian men’s team over the past three seasons,” he said.

“I’ve enjoyed my time with the team, in particular working closely with a great group of fast bowlers and in time will look forward to a new coaching role.”