Australia Tuesday reappointed coach Tim Nielsen until the end of the 2013 Ashes series in England, backing him to reverse a recent slump in fortunes. Cricket Australia said Nielsen had been in charge during a “challenging” time since 2007 after a number of greats, including Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, retired, and the team lost its top Test ranking. “Tim has been at the helm through a significant and challenging period of transition which has seen a number of once-in-a-generation global champions retire from the Australian team,” chief executive James Sutherland said. “Working closely with (captain) Ricky Ponting, team leadership, national players and team management, he has played an important role leading Australia through that transition.” Australia hosts England for the next Ashes series from November, when it will bid to regain the trophy following defeat in 2009. Nielsen said he was excited about the opportunity to build a new generation of Australian players. “I am excited about the coming phase in Australian cricket,” he said. “We have players who have come into the group over the last year or so who have found their feet at international level and more young players coming through. It is a great time to be renewing my role.” Australia is in training ahead of a packed schedule including two Tests and three one-dayers in India in October, followed by the five-Test Ashes series and seven one-dayers against England, and the one-day World Cup from February. Kiwis-Pak schedule Pakistan's cricket tour of New Zealand will feature fewer Tests and more one-day matches to help the teams prepare for next year's World Cup, according to the itinerary released Tuesday. The number of Tests has been cut from three to two with the one-day schedule expanded to six games in addition to three Twenty20 matches. “As part of our lead-in to the World Cup, we have agreed with the Pakistan Cricket Board to play more short-form cricket to prepare optimally,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said. “We have agreed to move from three Tests to two to allow the addition of another ODI and three Twenty20 internationals, which makes sense for both teams in the final weeks before the World Cup commences.” The 2011 Cricket World Cup, to be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, runs from Feb. 19 to April 2. Pakistan's tour of New Zealand will start in December with the Twenty20 internationals to be followed by the Tests and then the one
