Darren Lehmann extends Australia contract until 2019

Australia head coach Darren Lehmann has extended his contract until October 2019.

Lehmann's contract was due to expire in June 2017 and has been extended to cover the Ashes and World Cup in 2019.

Since Lehmann's appointment in 2013, he has taken the Test and one-day sides to No 1 in the world, won a home Ashes series 5-0, beat South Africa in a Test series away from home and won the 2015 World Cup.

Executive General Manager Pat Howard said: "2019 is such a big year for Australian cricket and we wanted certainty and stability for the playing group with both the coach and assistant coach contracted as we build towards the Ashes series and the World Cup.

"Darren has had great success in the role and he and the National Selection Panel deserve a huge amount of credit for taking a relatively young side to No 1  in the world in two of the three formats."

Lehmann said he was grateful for the support he had received and was looking forward to the upcoming challenges.

"I am incredibly grateful for the support and faith the Cricket Australia Board and the players have put in me," said the 46-year-old.

"I absolutely love doing this job and as far as I am concerned, it is the best job in the world.

"There is still a lot I would like to achieve in the time I have left and we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, especially with an upcoming Test series in India and a home Ashes series."