Ranatunga to head panel for coach's appointment
Arjuna Ranatunga will head a panel that will make recommendations on the appointment of a new national coach
Charlie Austin
24-May-2005
Sri Lanka's cricket board has confirmed the appointment of Arjuna Rantunga
as the head of a high-profile committee that will make
recommendations on the appointment of a new national coach and review
cricket development policies in the island.
The nine-member panel includes seven ex-captains - Ranjan Madugalle, Duleep
Mendis, Bandula Warnapura, Roshan Mahanama, Michael Tissera, Anura Tennekoon
- as well as former Test opener Sidath Wettimuny and fast bowler Graeme
Labrooy, the head of Sri Lanka's unofficial players' association.
The only notable absentees from the committee were Aravinda de Silva and
Hashan Tillakaratne, both of whom were very closely aligned with the
previous executive committee that was thrown out of office by the government
after allegations of financial mismanagement.
The new cricket committee is expected to make recommendations on the
probable appointment of Tom Moody as John Dyson's replacement as national
team coach, which is due to be finalised next week after an interview in
Colombo.
Moody is the clear frontrunner for the post after India's recruitment of
Greg Chappell but the board revealed on Saturday that they were also talking
to Ray Jennings, who was sacked last week as South African coach despite a
5-0 series whitewash of West Indies.
Ranatunga's cricket committee will then turn its attention to cricket
development issues and a review of the current domestic structure of the
game in the island, which Ranatunga has long-maintained needs to be
radically overhauled to safeguard Sri Lanka's future as an international
force.