Ian Bell appointed as Sri Lanka's batting coach for upcoming England tour
Former England batter Ian Bell has been appointed Sri Lanka's batting coach for the upcoming tour of England. The Lankans will play three Tests at Manchester, Lord's, and Oval, starting August 21.
Bell will begin his tenure with Sri Lanka on August 16 and remain until the end of the three-Test series.
Sri Lanka Cricket CEO, Ashley De Silva said in a statement:
"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."
Ian Bell played across all formats for England from 2004 to 2015, finishing with over 13,000 international runs and 26 centuries.
He boasted incredible Test numbers on difficult batting conditions at home, scoring 4,450 runs at an average of 47.84 with 15 centuries and 25 half-centuries in 65 outings.
Sri Lanka have won three out of their last four Test series but all played on familiar Asian conditions. They defeated Ireland and Afghanistan at home and beat Bangladesh in Bangladesh.
However, the lone series defeat in that stretch came against Pakistan at home last year.
As for England, they will enter the Sri Lankan series with confidence after dispatching the West Indies at home last month.
While they are sixth on the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) table, Sri Lanka are sitting pretty on fourth with 24 points in four games.
Sri Lanka last played a Test series in England way back in 2016
Sri Lanka previously played a Test series in England in 2016, with the home side pulling off a 2-0 win in the three-match affair.
England won the first two Tests convincingly by an innings margin and nine wickets. However, the Lankans avoided a series whitewash by salvaging a draw in the finale.
England also won the subsequent Test series in Sri Lanka in 2018 and 2021 by 3-0 and 2-0 margins, respectively. However, the Asian side can take solace from the fact that they stunned England in England by a 1-0 margin in the Test series in 2014.
Overall, the teams have met 36 times in Tests, with England holding a 17-8 advantage and 11 draws.