Graham Ford appointed Sri Lanka coach

Graham Ford has been appointed Sri Lanka coach, replacing Geoff Marsh, it was announced today. Ford, the former South Africa coach, will begin his assignment with the triangular ODI series in Australia next month. His appointment is the latest decision by Sri Lanka Cricket to revamp the setup around the national team - the captaincy was changed on Monday and, last week, the selection panel was replaced before its term expired - following a string of disappointing results.

A statement by the board thanked Marsh for his services; it also thanked Anura Tennekoon, who has been replaced as team manager by Charuth Senanayaka.

Sri Lanka's performances have come in for much criticism since reaching the World Cup final - they have lost every Test and ODI series they have played since then and a new board that came to power in the elections earlier this month have rung in the changes.

Ford last week resigned as head coach of the Dolphins, the Durban-based franchise, saying he wanted to "follow my dreams of involvement at an international level".

He will be the third coach appointed by Sri Lanka since Trevor Bayliss stepped down after leading them to the 2011 World Cup final. Marsh was appointed for two years in September 2011 and was in charge for the tours against Pakistan and South Africa. His appointment appeared to end a period of upheaval following Bayliss' exit. Stuart Law, who was Bayliss' assistant, took over for the England tour before quitting to coach Bangladesh. Rumesh Ratnayake then took over for the home series against Australia, before Marsh's appointment.

Ford took over as coach of South Africa from Bob Woolmer in 1999 and held the position till 2001. He moved to Kent as director of cricket in 2004, and in 2006 he returned home to take charge of the Dolphins. In June 2007, he was offered the challenge of coaching India but declined. In 2009, he withdrew his name from the shortlist of candidates for the England coaching job.