Mickey Arthur named Sri Lanka head coach on two-year deal

His first assignment will come against Misbah-ul-Haq, his successor, with Sri Lanka facing Pakistan in a two-Test series

Mickey Arthur has been appointed as Sri Lanka head coach on a two-year deal.

The 51-year-old, who has previously worked with South Africa and Australia, left his role with Pakistan at the conclusion of the summer’s World Cup.

His first assignment will come against Misbah-ul-Haq, his successor, with Sri Lanka facing Pakistan in a two-Test series.

He will be joined by Grant Flower as his batting coach; the pair previously worked together with Pakistan, although Flower will only work with the white-ball team and, therefore, will not travel to Pakistan for the Test series, which gets underway on December 11.

Former England bowling coach David Saker will also assist Arthur, while Shane McDermott is Sri Lanka’s new fielding coach.

Arthur had signed a short-term deal with Central Stags for New Zealand’s Super Smash T20 competition in September. He has been released from that arrangement to take up his new post. Aldin Smith will take over from him, with former New Zealand wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi joining Stags’ coaching staff.

During his time as Pakistan coach, Arthur led his side to 10 consecutive T20I series victories, becoming the top-ranked team in the world in the process.

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