Neil McKenzie appointed as Sri Lanka's Consultant ahead of South Africa tour

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has named former South Africa batter Neil McKenzie as the consultant coach for their men's team ahead of the Test series against South Africa. Neil McKenzie will join the Sri Lankan camp for their upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa, which will begin later this month.

McKenzie scored over 3,253 runs in 58 Test matches from 2000 to 2009. He amassed close to 20,000 runs in first-class cricket. McKenzie is also known for setting a record-breaking 415-run opening partnership with Graeme Smith against Bangladesh in 2008, the highest opening stand in Test cricket history.

Neil McKenzie Appointed as Consultant Coach Ahead of South Africa Series

Neil McKenzie will join the Sri Lankan team as a consultant coach between November 13 and 21. He will work with the 10 Test players who left for South Africa on November 11 for a pre-series camp. The series will start on November 27 in Kingsmead, with the second Test set for December 5 in Port Elizabeth.

Sri Lanka Cricket's CEO, Ashley De Silva, said that Neil Mckenzie will bring valuable insights about South African conditions to help Sri Lankan players adapt to the challenges in the upcoming series.

"McKenzie will bring in vital, in-depth insights about the South African conditions to help Sri Lankan players adapt to the challenge," Ashley De Silva said in an official statement.

Since retiring from international cricket in 2009, the 48-year-old has had a coaching career in various dressing rooms.

Last year, he served as South Africa’s batting consultant during their ICC World Test Championship (WTC) series against the West Indies. Earlier this year, he was part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) coaching staff in the Indian Premier League as a batting coach.

The First Test Between South Africa and Sri Lanka to Commence on Nov 27

South Africa won 2-0 in the 2020/21 series, while Sri Lanka made history with a 2-0 win in the 2018/19 series. The upcoming series is crucial for the WTC 2023-25 standings. Sri Lanka is currently in third place with a points percentage system (PCT) of 55.56, and South Africa is in fifth place with a PCT of 54.17.

The Test series between Sri Lanka and South Africa will begin on November 27 at Kingsmead, followed by the second Test starting on December 5 at St. George’s Oval in Port Elizabeth.

Sri Lanka's pre-series camp squad

Pre-series camp squad: Dhananjaya De Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Kumara, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Milan Rathnayake, Kasun Rajitha and Lasith Embuldeniya.

Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, and Dinesh Chandimal are among Sri Lanka's squad for the pre-series camp. The remaining players will join the squad after Sri Lanka's home ODI series against New Zealand. The full squads for the South Africa tour are yet to be announced.

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