Sri Lanka appoint separate Test and ODI captain

Sri Lanka's selectors have decided to split the Test and one-day captaincy, appointing Hashan Tillakaratne as the new Test captain and handing over the leadership of the one-day side to Marvan Atapattu.

The appointments, for the New Zealand Test series and the triangular series that follows only, were announced on Thursday night.

Marvan Atapattu, vice-captain to Sanath Jayasuriya, had been expected to take over complete leadership but the selectors decided instead to following the Australian model of separate captains.

According to Hemaka Amarasuriya, the cricket board chairman, the selectors thought it "wise to share trhe burden because of the high pressure of international cricket today."

Tillakaratne, who had previously captained the national side in one drawn Test against Pakistan at Lahore in 1999, admitted he had been caught unawares: "I was very surprised but it is a great honour and privilege to lead the side."

The appointment completes a remarkable comeback by the 35-year-old left-hander, who spent two years out of the national side after the 1999 World Cup when the selectors pursued a hardline youth policy.

"I got a raw deal but I went back to club cricket and was determined to score runs and fight my way back. Lots of people got behind me and gave me the confidence to fight-back," said Tillakaratne.

During that period he boosted his captain credentials by leading his domestic club, the Nondescripts Cricket Club, to the first-class championship in 2000-01.

And following his return to the national side in August 2001 he cemented a place in the Test team with a glut of runs, scoring 1053 runs at an average 75.21 with four centuries and two fifties.

Atapattu, 32, has captained Sri Lanka in both forms of the game, impressing during Sri Lanka's last Test played against South Africa at Centurion when he stood in for the injured Jayasuriya.

The right-handed opener is, however, still expected to take over the Test captaincy in the longer term according to the chairman of the selectors, former Sri Lanka leg-spinner Lalith Kaluperuma.