by Rex Clementine 

Englishman Paul Farbrace is all set to be roped in as Sri Lanka’s Head Coach on a two year stint. The former wicketkeeper batsman is set to take up the new role later next month when the national cricket team tours India for a two match Test and three match T-20 series. Farbrace’s appointment will see Sri Lanka ending the headhunt for Mickey Arthur’s successor.

Arthur, extremely popular among local fans and players, ended his two year tenure in December last year. He was keen for an extension, however, Sri Lanka Cricket let Arthur go with a heavy heart as they felt that fresh ideas needed to come into the coaching set up.

The new coaching set up will be all Sri Lankan except for the Head Coach and Fielding Coach. The Cricket Advisory Committee comprising former captains Kumar Sangakkara, Aravinda de Silva and Muttiah Muralitharan are said to be in discussions with a New Zealander to fill the role.

There were more than 30 applicants for the Head Coach’s position and Farbrace had not applied. However, the Cricket Advisory Committee were not satisfied with the response and started negotiating with other individuals.

Former Head Coach Graham Ford was the overwhelming choice to return for a third stint. However, the South African is believed to be having issues to move to Colombo at present. Ford under whom Sri Lanka whitewashed Australia 3-0 in Tests at home had not ruled out returning to Colombo although his early departure in 2017 was somewhat sour.

This left Farbrace the leading choice to fill Arthur’s shoes and SLC is set to sign the deal over the next couple of weeks.

Farbrace will not travel to Australia next month for the five match T-20 series. Rumesh Ratnayake will continue as Interim Coach.

Farbrace (54) from Ash-next-Sandwich in Canterbury had played First Class cricket for Kent and Middlesex and in 2005 joined SLC at the age of 37 as Assistant Coach to Trevor Bayliss.

SLC then appointed Frabrace as Head Coach in 2014 and in his first campaign – the T-20 World Cup in Bangladesh – he guided Sri Lanka to victory beating India in the final. However, immediately afterwards, he quit the job and joined English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as Assistant to Head Coach Trevor Bayliss. The manner in which Farbrace left made many unhappy. However, it is believed that ECB secretly paid SLC a sum to the tune of US$ 100,000 for snatching their Head Coach away.

The Island learns that SLC had told Farbrace to see through to his contract. Not many coaches anyway have been that lucky with SLC with the board ending their terms prematurely. Some coaches like Geoff Marsh took the board to courts and won the case in 2012 for wrongful termination of employment. The manner in which Cricket Advisory Committee has worked with coaches is commendable. They were not happy with the performances of certain coaches under Mickey Arthur last year, but rather than pulling the trigger, they patiently waited until the coaches finished their terms. 

Although, the Cricket Advisory Committee was initially keen to appoint a local as the Head Coach, they seem to have deviated from their stance and brought in Farbrace.

Former Test cricketer Naveed Nawaz also will join the national team as assistant to Farbrace. Nawaz is currently with Bangladesh Cricket Board and although he is contracted till the end of the year, sources said that he is expected to get an early release.