Australian contenders for SL job

As one Australian heads home after finishing his tenure as Sri Lankan coach he looks set to be replaced by another, with three Australians – Trevor Bayliss, Jamie Siddons and Terry Oliver – being among the leading contenders to take over the job.

Tom Moody stepped down from the job after Sri Lanka’s runner-up finish in the 2007 World Cup, and a replacement has yet to be announced. But it has emerged that New South Wales coach Trevor Bayliss will travel to Sri Lanka next week for an interview, and that Australia assistant-coach Jamie Siddons and also Terry Oliver are leading contenders for the role.

Bayliss appears confident heading into next week’s interview, having already spoken to Moody about what the Sri Lankan job involves. New South Wales have said that while they will be disappointed to see Bayliss go if he gets the job, they will not stand in the way.

It hardly comes as a surprise that Australians are being favoured by the Sri Lankan board to take over from Moody, as Sri Lanka have shown a liking for Australian coaches in the past. Moody and Dav Whatmore, who coached the team during their World Cup-winning campaign in 1996, have been the team’s two most successful coaches and Bruce Yardley and John Dyson have also held the role in the past.