South Australia will be looking to improved fortunes with the appointment of Jamie Cox as their high performance manager © Getty Images Enlarge

South Australia have named Jamie Cox, the former Tasmania captain, as their high performance manager. Cox, also a national selector, will take up the assignment after his stint with the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, where he's managing elite level coaches across a variety of sports in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. He succeeds former Australia wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, who occupied the position for three years.

"Jamie has been involved in elite level sport for almost two decades - with 16 years experience as a first-class cricketer and an additional four years experience in high performance administration/management", Mike Deare, the South Australia Cricket Association (SACA) chief executive, said in a release.

Cox, who's played the most number of Sheffield Shield games, will be working alongside Mark Sorell, the team coach. "Jamie has worked closely with professionally contracted cricket players while at the Tasmanian Cricket Association and is well-equipped to support Mark Sorell during what is a key time," Deare said.

Cox's responsibilities will range from the youth squads to the senior men's and women's teams, besides handling coaching staff and player recruitment and welfare.

South Australia finished fifth in the Pura Cup - which is back to being called the Sheffield Shield - last season. They haven't made it to a domestic first-class final since 1995-96 and only two limited-overs finals in the past 14 seasons.

Cox, a middle-order batsman who later became an opener, remained on the fringes of the Australian team during his career for Tasmania. Cox scored 10,821 runs in the Sheffield Shield, only bettered by Darren Lehmann, who finished his career with South Australia last season.