Former South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Nic Pothas has been appointed Sri Lanka’s fielding coach, a board release said. Chaminda Vass has been appointed as the fast bowling coach yet again.
Aravinda de Silva, chairman of the board’s cricket committee, said Sri Lanka may enjoy a fine record on their own spin-friendly pitches but must develop teams to get results on a variety of surfaces.
“We have to develop teams to win outside the country... not just on turning wickets, but to win in Australia on those fast wickets,” he told reporters.
De Silva said Vaas, who took a total of 755 wickets in Tests and ODIs before his last appearance for Sri Lanka in 2009, would be in charge of identifying fast bowling talent around the island.
“Vaas is keen to take a role, which we feel he will be really good at, to develop some of our young cricketers from grassroot levels,” de Silva said.
The 42-year-old would “travel around the country, identify the talent out there and work with different teams and squads to get them ready for the higher level”, he added.
Vaas had a spell as Sri Lanka’s bowling coach from 2013-15 and has also coached New Zealand and Ireland.
Pothas had most recently been the academy director at Leicestershire County, and was the cricket director at Guernsey in the past.
“Our last few outings are showing a marked improvement in the batting and bowling, however our fielding has been letting us down,” SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala said. “Pothas joining the support team already in place will give the necessary boost to this important area.
“We always believe in engaging the best professional advice and technical support for our national team, and this appointment is one such positive step.”
Pothas is the Sumathipala administration’s third high-profile appointment to the coaching system, to follow head coach Graham Ford and high-performance manager Simon Willis. Both Pothas and SLC thanked Leicesershire county for releasing him from his county contract.
“I will forever be grateful to Leicestershire County Cricket Club for the opportunity to join at an exciting time,” Pothas said. “But the opportunity to be involved in the game at the highest level is not one that I could pass up.”
-ESPN
