SLC asks Ford to reconsider decision

Sri Lanka Cricket has asked coach Graham Ford to reconsider his decision not to renew his contract with the team. The lure of a job with Surrey does not feature in Ford's request to end his tenure as the coach, SLC heard in the meeting, in which it hoped to convince him to stay.

"Surrey had approached him, but they haven't offered him a job," SLC CEO Ashley de Silva said. "What he cited to us was that he had family commitments, and that's why he was thinking about leaving. We talked to him and gave him a few options regarding his family, and he will consider those with his family and get back to us next week."

Earlier in the week, Ford told the board he would finish with the team when his contract would expire in January, and he had been linked to the vacant coaching position at Surrey, which is expected to be filled over the English winter. Ford said in August that he had been informally approached by Surrey's CEO regarding the position, but that he would not consider it until his contractual obligations with Sri Lanka were fulfilled.

SLC has said it was pleased with the team's progress under Ford, but if he abides by his decision to leave in January, Sri Lanka's tour in the UAE will be his last assignment with Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka won their first Test series in almost three years, against Pakistan, and progressed to the final of the World Twenty20 in 2012 during Ford's tenure, but were also whitewashed 3-0 in a Test series in Australia.