SL hire Donald as fast bowling coach for Champions Trophy

Sri Lanka have appointed Allan Donald as a consultant fast bowling coach for the Champions Trophy to be played in England in June.

Donald was due to join Kent this summer as assistant coach but his arrival had been delayed because of work-permit issues and the county has agreed to release him for a two-month stint with Sri Lanka. Donald will now take up his role with Kent in 2018 after completing his Level 3 coaching qualification.

Sri Lanka have been investing in resources to beef up their pace attack with the services of Chaminda Vaas, Champaka Ramanayake, Ravindra Pushpakumara and Nuwan Zoysa. Donald will work with the coaching team and conduct train-the-trainer sessions apart from working with the national team.

He is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on May 1 and join the team at their pre-tournament camp in Pallekele where they will undergo a training and conditioning programme from May 9 to 16.

Donald, who was the first South African to 300 Test wickets and retired with 330, worked as a bowling coach for South Africa for four years until the 2015 World Cup. He was also hired by Australia to mentor their bowlers for the Sri Lanka tour in July 2016 and has worked with two IPL franchises - Pune Warriors and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

"I'm 100% committed to Kent despite the frustration of not being able to join Matt Walker and the boys as planned," Donald said. "In the meantime, I'm working towards my Level 3 and this opportunity to work with Sri Lanka means I can return to coaching before joining Kent in time for next season.

"I'm following this season closely and hoping the boys can get promotion and compete in white-ball cricket."