Jerome Jayaratne newly appointed head of coaching

Jerome Jayaratne represented Sri Lanka at Under (19 & 23) levels & played many years of professional Cricket at District level in Australia he then joined SLC in 2001 as 'Manager Coaching' & held this position from 2001 to 2004 during this time he was involved in 'Coach Education' & overlooked Provincial & District Coaches deployed around the Country, thereafter in 2005 he moved on to field Coaching & was in charge of the SLC 'Academy Squad' from 2005 to 2007/08. Jerome is a Qualified Cricket Coach & bears certificates such as 'ACB Level (3 & 2), ECB Level (3), in 2002 he also was seconded to the 'International Cricket Council' where he was trained in 'Administration/Coaching' & worked in the 'United Kingdom' for a period of time before returning to Sri Lanka.

During his (3) year on field Coaching stint with the SLC 'Academy Squad' he produced (5) National Players (4) of whom represented the Country in the same successive year. (Upul Tharanga 2005/ Chamara Kapugedarea 2006 / Dilruwan Perera 2007), Chanaka Welagedera from the 2005 Squad & the most recent 'Ajantha Mendis' from the 2007/08 Squad who was scouted from the Tier (B) competition trained with the Academy where he toured India & was elevated to the National Team by passing many Tier (A) players.

Jerome speaking on his new appointment said "I relish this opportunity given to me with regard to this new appointment & I am definitely looking forward to the challenge in this new role with SLC, I am thankful to the current administration & members of the 'Interim Committee' for having recognized ones efforts & entrusting me to deliver what is required for the future of SLC in the area of Coaching.

SLC for many years have had a system in place, however I believe that it is time to keep up with the modern demands in world Cricket & take the game to the next generation of Cricketers/Coaches in making sure that we would not be left behind. There has been much work done in the area of Coaching by SLC over the years however my attention & focus is to build on what has been built. Any changes whether it would be a position held by some one at present or structural to the existing system would not be for the sake of a change it would be purely for better productivity of the establishment. Studying the existing system I feel there is work to be done, there will be 'Structural' changes & also new 'Divisions' will be set up within the 'Coaching Area' this will help us to be better structured as a department & also we need to create a better structured environment for Cricket Training & Coach Education Programs conducted by the 'Coaching Department' this will help us to be more productive as a 'Division' with regard to our work which is Cricket. Once we get the 'Structure' in place we would need to appoint the correct people to their respective positions & then direct there work areas accordingly. As a important department of 'SLC' it is of utmost importance that we are productive in what we do & if to be this the staff needs to be efficient with regard to their work, Coaches need to be equipped with certain requirements if ones to deliver what's expected of them, thereafter steering this ship in the correct direction becomes my responsibility.

As a department we would be transparent with regard to programs conducted by the Coaching Department around the Country. I earnestly hope that through the Sri Lankan 'Media' we would be able to reach out to the 'Cricketing & Coaching' fraternity throughout the Country. The modified 'New Coaching Structure' along with some minor changes & a scheduled work plan document would be made available to the Media for publication very soon".