Goolam Rajah appointed as Team Manager for ICC World XI sides in Johnnie Walker Super Series

Goolam Rajah, the highly experienced South African national team manager, has been appointed to manage the ICC World XI Test and ODI teams in October's Johnnie Walker Super Series in Australia.

Mr Rajah has held senior team management positions in South African cricket for more than 11 years and with more than 260 One Day Internationals, 102 Test matches, three ICC Cricket World Cups and three ICC Champions Trophy tournaments to his credit; he is the most experienced team manger in the international game.

Commenting upon his appointment, Mr Rajah said he was honoured to be asked by the ICC to take on the role and excited by the challenge of working with some of the greatest players in the world: "I thought I had experienced most of what the game had to offer in team management roles, but the opportunity of working with the ICC World XI teams is a great honour and a personal privilege. It will certainly be a highlight for me and I can't wait to get started.

"Playing Australia in Australia will be a huge challenge for the players and I see my main role as making things work smoothly and efficiently as part of the management team, leaving the players free to concentrate their energies on training and preparation," he added.

ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said that Mr Rajah was an ideal candidate to take on such a demanding post: "During the course of his managerial career in South African cricket, Goolam has encountered just about every possible situation that can confront a team. That background and experience will be an important asset in making sure that players arriving in Australia from around the cricketing world are well planned for and looked after during the series. I have every confidence that he will do an excellent job."

Gerald Majola, Chief Executive of Cricket South Africa said: "This is a fitting tribute by the ICC to Goolam, who has managed South African teams for more than 100 Tests and scores of ODIs. This, we believe, is unprecedented in world cricket. In addition to his outstanding administrative abilities, Goolam has been a wonderful ambassador for SA teams, the nation and cricket on his travels throughout the world for more than a decade."

Prior to managing the national team Mr Rajah was a major figure in Transvaal cricket, serving as an executive board member, selector and team manager between 1992 and 1996.

The 58-year-old is a retail pharmacist by profession. In 2004, he received a United Cricket Board of South Africa Award for Outstanding Service to South African cricket.