Melbourne, Aug 23 : Cricket Australia (CA) has appointed Australian cricket legend and current Centre of Excellence (COE) head coach Greg Chappell as its first National Talent Manager (NTM), a role which will see him become Australian cricket's first full-time selector.

Chappell, who played 87 Tests for Australia, 48 as captain, and also played 74 One-day Internationals, and was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2002, will vacate his current role as CA Centre of Excellence Head Coach in Brisbane to take the new, Melbourne-based role.

CA General Manager Cricket Michael Brown said he was delighted that a cricket person with Chappell's life-long depth of experience and expertise in elite cricket was able to take the new role.

"We began a detailed review of our cricket pathway programme more than four years ago and this appointment is the final step in that comprehensive process," Brown said.

"Greg will work closely with the State cricket talent development managers and with the national selectors in a system that now gives us a tightly integrated, national talent identification and management system across all Australian cricket. A well-defined national pathway which has all of Australian elite cricket pulling in one direction in the interests of our international performance is critically important in what is becoming a steadily more competitive international cricket environment," he said.

Chappell said: "I am really excited by the challenge of this new role - from a talent management point of view, this will be an exciting period for Australian cricket. I have enjoyed the COE Head Coach role as I was able to work with a talented group of coaches and support staff to assist and develop the next generation of Australian cricketers. The new role dovetails beautifully for me as they will be the immediate future of Australian cricket."

Andrew Hilditch will continue to chair the National Selection Panel (NSP) and Chappell will join as one of its four members. (IANS)