Ranatunga to head panel for coach's appointment

Sri Lanka's cricket board has confirmed the appointment of Arjuna Rantunga as the head of a high-profile committee that will make recommendations on the appointment of a new national coach and review cricket development policies in the island.

The nine-member panel includes seven ex-captains - Ranjan Madugalle, Duleep Mendis, Bandula Warnapura, Roshan Mahanama, Michael Tissera, Anura Tennekoon - as well as former Test opener Sidath Wettimuny and fast bowler Graeme Labrooy, the head of Sri Lanka's unofficial players' association.

The only notable absentees from the committee were Aravinda de Silva and Hashan Tillakaratne, both of whom were very closely aligned with the previous executive committee that was thrown out of office by the government after allegations of financial mismanagement.

The new cricket committee is expected to make recommendations on the probable appointment of Tom Moody as John Dyson's replacement as national team coach, which is due to be finalised next week after an interview in Colombo.

Moody is the clear frontrunner for the post after India's recruitment of Greg Chappell but the board revealed on Saturday that they were also talking to Ray Jennings, who was sacked last week as South African coach despite a 5-0 series whitewash of West Indies.

Ranatunga's cricket committee will then turn its attention to cricket development issues and a review of the current domestic structure of the game in the island, which Ranatunga has long-maintained needs to be radically overhauled to safeguard Sri Lanka's future as an international force.