Farbrace quits as Sri Lanka coach
Paul Farbrace the Sri Lanka coach, has resigned with immediate effect in order to take up a role with the ECB, Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed. The development came a day after Farbrace returned to Colombo and met with SLC officials to discuss his position, following reports that he had been approached by the ECB to become assistant coach to Peter Moores, the new England coach.
Farbrace had been expected to have further meetings with SLC on Tuesday,
but had sent in his letter of resignation before the board had had a
chance meet him. SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said that although
the board regretted his decision to leave the role, they had understood
the reasons behind it.
Significantly better pay and a desire to work in the country of his
birth are believed to be the primary reasons for Farbrace's early
departure from Sri Lanka. After talks on Monday, Ranatunga said Farbrace
had been offered an "attractive package" by ECB, the likes of which SLC
could not hope to match. The salary SLC had offered had been deemed too
modest by several high-profile coaches, before Farbrace, who was
Yorkshire's second XI coach at the time, was signed by the board.
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Farbrace was a little over three months into his two-year contract with
SLC. His tenure was marked by off-field upheaval, as much as on-field
success. Sri Lanka lost only one out of 18 matches under his watch,
winning the World T20 and Asia Cup in that time, but at his time of
departure, the players remained locked in a contracts dispute with the
board, seven weeks after their previous agreements expired. Mahela
Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara also clashed with SLC officials over
the announcement of their T20 retirements. Farbrace said, however, his
experience in the role had not been soured by off-field events.
He had also said he had not applied for the England position, but was
approached by the ECB on Thursday, two days before the ECB confirmed
Moores as head coach. It is understood Moores had a major say in who he
wanted to work with and was strongly in favour of Farbrace.
SLC have not yet worked out the legal repercussions of Farbrace
terminating his contract,Ranatunga said. The coach has walked out inside
a six-month probationary period, which may mean neither he, nor ECB,
are liable to compensate SLC, even though another clause in the contract
states Farbrace must give six months' notice before leaving the role.
Sri Lanka's short-term plans have been landed in some disarray by
Farbrace's departure, as they prepare for a tour of Ireland and England
that begins on May 7. Following that tour, Sri Lanka is set to host no.1
Test side South Africa at home in July, before Pakistan's expected
arrival for another full tour in August. Their plans for the 2015 World
Cup will also have been somewhat hampered.
An interim appointment is likley for the upcoming tour, with assistant
coach Marvan Atapattu the frontrunner to assume the role. Including two
other temporary appointments, Atapattu would become the seventh head
coach Sri Lanka have had since 2011. Ranatunga said the board had not
yet decided whether to open up a fresh application process for the job.
by ESPN SPORT FOR SPORT GROUP
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