In a bid to revive the fortune of the national team, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) has decided to start the post world cup era with new set of coaches. Accordingly, Micky Arthur has replaced Chandika Hathurusingha as the head coach of the Sri Lanka national team, while Australian Shane Mcdermott has been appointed as the fielding coach, Cricket Age exclusively learns. In addition, SLC COO Jerome Jayaratne has been roped in as the incharge of High Performance Centre (HPC) at Khetterama.
The formal decisions were taken during the SLC ExCo meeting yesterday.
Arthur’s contract was not renewed by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) following an underwhelming performance in the World Cup in England and Wales in June. However, with his impressive record at international level, the top brass of Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) is hopeful of a new beginning for the national team under Arthur’s guidance.
“Micky has the experience of subcontinent, as he has worked with Pakistan team. It’s an added advantage of having him, as he knows how passionate Asian countries are about their cricket” a senior SLC administrator told Cricket Age.
Arthur’s appointment is a timely boost for Sri Lanka ahead of the T20 World Cup next year, as under his supervision, Pakistan became number one T20 side.
“As all the team’s are preparing for the T20 world cup, bringing Arthur as head coach is a timely decision, as his record, especially in the shortest format with Pakistan is unmatched” the senior administrator added further.
Arthur, 51, has coached South Africa and Australia in the past. During his tenure with South Africa from 2005 to 2010, Arthur helped Proteas achieve the top position in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, saw them beat England in a series for the first time in four decades and then overcame the biggest bogey of them all, a series win in Australia.
After his tenure with South Africa ended in 2010, Arthur became coach of Western Australia and, in November the following year, became the first foreign-born coach of the Australian national team. His time with Australia was rife with mediocre showings on the field, though, and team-discipline issues off it. It ended with Arthur being sacked from the job, just a fortnight before the much-anticipated 2013 Ashes in England.
Under him, Pakistan’s biggest gain was winning the ICC Champions Trophy two years back. The team became number one in ICC’s T20 rankings.
Coincidentally, With Sri Lanka, Arthur’s next assignment will be against Pakistan, as the two sides are preparing for two match test series next month.
With the much anticipated test series, after more than 10 years, Test cricket will return to Pakistan in December when Sri Lanka will play their World Test Championship matches in Rawalpindi and Karachi.
Mcdermott, meanwhile, has associated with South Australia and Tasmania team’s in past as high performance coach and has been considered one of the best fielding coach in Australian setup.
Jerome Jayaratne, on the other hand, has always been considered a better coach than an administrator. After Chandika Hathurusingha’s suspension in August, Jerome was acting as consultant coach of the national team and impressed SLC top brass with his insights.
