Sri Lanka Cricket have roped in former Australia leg-spinner Peter Sleep to conduct a two-week coaching clinic with the country’s spin bowlers.
Sleep, 60, is expected to arrive in Colombo later this month. An SLC official told Cricbuzz that the former leg-spinner was hired on the recommendations of head coach Chandika Hahturusingha. Sleep is among the former spinners shortlisted to join the Sri Lankan side on a full-time basis.
The problem with Sri Lanka Cricket and instant gratification
Sleep made his first-class debut for South Australia as a teenager and his Test debut coincided with the World Series Cricket. Having made his Test debut at the MCG against Pakistan in 1979, Sleep played just 14 Test matches over the next 11 years in a stop-start career. His international career virtually ended with the arrival of Shane Warne.
Since the arrival of Hathurusingha as the head coach in January this year, he has been harping a lot on the impact leg-spinners can have particularly in shorter formats of the game. After 20-year-old Wanindu Hasaranga failed to make an impact, veteran Jeewan Mendis, 35, was brought back into the side after being in the wilderness for three years. He too had little impact while Jeffrey Vandersay continued to struggle with injuries and form. Left-arm wrist spinner Lakshan Sandakan hasn’t received an extended run either.
Sri Lanka expect Sleep to, both, work with their wrist spinners and identify those who can compete at the highest level.
With the World Cup less than 15 months away, there are real concerns about Sri Lanka’s ability to compete at the highest level. Their best show in ODI cricket in recent times has been winning a tri-nation competition in Dhaka involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Australian psychologist Dr. Phil Jauncey to conduct another session
Last year, Sri Lanka suffered three 5-0 whitewashes against South Africa, India and Pakistan apart from their first-ever series loss to Zimbabwe. They are ranked eighth in the world and gained automatic qualification for the World Cup marginally over the West Indies.
Sri Lanka’s problems lie particularly with the bowling as among the current bowlers only Angelo Mathews has an economy rate of below five runs an over. Mathews, the team’s white ball captain, is returning after injury and will only play as a specialist batsman for the next few months.
Sri Lanka will also decide on a new team manager by early next month ahead of the tour of West Indies, after Asanka Gurusinha was promoted as high-performance manager taking over from Englishman Simon Willis, who ended his term early.
Sri Lanka will play three Test matches against West Indies in Trinidad, St. Lucia and Barbados.
