Ian Bell appointed as batting coach for Sri Lanka's Test tour of England

Ian Bell, the former England cricketer known for his exceptional batting skills, has been named as Sri Lanka's new batting coach for their upcoming tour of England. The Sri Lankan team is gearing up to face England in a series of three Tests starting on August 21. Bell will officially start his coaching duties on August 16 and will be guiding the Sri Lankan batters until the conclusion of the series. His wealth of experience and knowledge of the game is expected to provide valuable insights and guidance to the Sri Lankan players as they prepare to take on the formidable English side.

"We appointed Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key insights on the conditions there. Ian has a lot of experience playing in England, and we believe his inputs will help our team in this crucial tour," SLC CEO Ashley De Silva said.

Since his retirement in 2020, Bell has worked extensively as a coach. He has previously worked as the batting coach of the England men's U-19 and England Lions teams, assistant coach at Hobart Hurricanes, consultant batting coach at Derbyshire and assistant coach of the New Zealand men's side before the 2023 ODI World Cup. Most recently, he worked as an assistant coach at Melbourne Renegades in the BBL and has been coach of the Birmingham Phoenix side in the Men's Hundred.

Related

Sri Lanka call up Ratnayake, Tharaka for England Tests; Nissanka also back

"He's reminded me a few times that he's going to be in the opposite camp in this series," England batter Jamie Smith, who works with Bell at Phoenix, told ahead of Monday night's game. Sri Lanka will hope Bell's expertise helps them win their first Test series in England since 2014.

Sri Lanka announced their squad for the England Tests last week, with Dhananjaya de Silva set to lead the team. The three Tests will be in Manchester (August 21-25), Lord's (August 29-September 2), and the Oval (September 6-10).