MELBOURNE, Nov 15: Olympic gold medal-winning Australia women’s hockey coach Ric Charlesworth has rejected an approach to replace Rod Marsh as coach the Australian Cricket Academy, Australian media reported Thursday.

“I wasn’t really interested because I didn’t think the concept was right,” Charlesworth was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun newspaper Thursday.

“It should be decentralised. In a country with our geography it doesn’t seem to make sense to have the academy in one state.”

Charlesworth, a former Australia hockey player, coached the Australia women’s team to gold at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics.

He is also a former state cricketer for Western Australia who now serves on the coaching staff of Australian Rules national league football team Fremantle in Western Australia.

Marsh, a former Australia wicket-keeper, has taken on a new role as director of England and Wales Cricket Board’s national academy and is overseeing a live-in camp at the Australia academy’s base in Adelaide, South Australia state.

A spokesman for the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), Brian Murgatroyd, said Thursday the newspaper report was speculation.

“We don’t comment on speculation,” Murgatroyd said.

“We are still in the process of reviewing the academy’s goals and Rod’s departure after 10 and a half years is a good opportunity to do that.”

Former Australia Test batsman Wayne Phillips has been promoted to acting head coach, Murgatroyd said.—Reuters