Law to take over as Bangladesh coach

Bangladesh have announced that Stuart Law will be their next coach, succeeding Jamie Siddons, whose contract wasn't renewed after the World Cup. Law, currently Sri Lanka's interim coach, will quit that position after the five-match ODI series against England and will join the Bangladesh team in mid-July in Dhaka, prior to their tour of Zimbabwe.

"Stuart Law was far ahead on our shortlist for a new coach. He has been appointed the head coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team for two years starting from July 1," Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP. "It's not only his experience as a coach - his strong leadership abilities were a factor in our decision to make him head coach."

Law - whose appointment was announced at a press conference in Dhaka on Monday - had served as Sri Lanka's assistant coach under Trevor Bayliss since 2009 and took charge of the team on a temporary basis, specifically for the tour of England, after Bayliss stepped down post the 2011 World Cup.

"I only need to put pen to paper. I have finalised it so the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) can tell you," Law told Dhaka-based daily Prothom Alo. "I asked SLC if they would want me to continue after November but they couldn't confirm anything so I told them that I won't continue after the UK tour. The most important thing for me is job security."

Yunus confirmed that Law would take up the Bangladesh job after Sri Lanka's England tour ended. "After that it will take a couple of weeks to complete the formalities before he joins the Bangladesh team in mid-July," he said.

Earlier during the Test leg of the England tour, Law had expressed his keenness to take over the Sri Lankan job on a full-time basis. "At this stage it's a wonderful opportunity to work with one of the best teams in the world so, yes, I am keen," he had said. "I've got this tour to show what I'm capable of."

However, the uncertainty about his future with Sri Lanka meant that the Bangladesh offer became one he could not refuse. "He told us after the Twenty20 game in Bristol that he was going to Bangladesh," said Thilina Kandamby, Sri Lanka's stand-in captain. "We enjoyed working with him, especially here in England because he played a lot of cricket in this country and gave us good advice."

One of Marvan Atapattu (batting coach), Ruwan Kalpage (fielding coach) and Champaka Ramanayake (bowling coach) was expected to take over from Law on a temporary basis.