Australia have appointed South African Mickey Arthur as their new head coach.

The 43-year-old becomes the first foreign coach of the national side after seeing off competition from the likes of Steve Rixon, Justin Langer and Tom Moody.

The former South Africa coach has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal which takes him through to the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

"It is an honour and a privilege to be the coach of a team of the ilk of Australia," Arthur said.

"There is a transitional cycle at the moment with Australia, but I think that is the most exciting aspect of this job.

"I have an unblinking view of Australian cricket having come in from outside. I have analysed against Australia before and I think that will help. It is important to now take this step by step and get sustainable success."

Arthur led South Africa to number one in the world in all formats of the game during his five-year stint with the Proteas between 2005-2010.