Sri Lanka Look Towards Peter Sleep to Tackle Spin Bowling Problems

Sri Lankan cricket board have roped in former Australian spinner, Peter Sleep to conduct a two-week coaching clinic for the Sri Lankan spin bowlers.

The 60-year old is expected to reach Colombo before the end of this month and will be helping Sri Lankan spinners in fine-tuning their skills over two weeks. Sri Lanka’s newly appointed coach, Chandika Hahturusingha is keen to improve the standard of their cricket.

Also Read: Playing India Twice Instrumental in Sri Lankan Cricket Turnaround – Nic Pothas

Peter Sleep was one of the primary candidates to become a spin consultant for Sri Lankan cricket on a full-time basis. He made his first-class debut back in 1976. But his debut came three years later against Pakistan at the iconic MCG.

However, his career did not fly, as he managed to play only 13 more Tests after his debut. His career came to an end when Shane Warne entered into the national side, and he was never really considered after that.

Sri Lanka is currently in the midst of a spin crisis. The team does not have quality spinners apart from Akila Dhananjaya on their roster. This has made things tougher for the team, as they were unable to pick up wickets in middle overs.

Sleep is expected to work with wrist spinners and improve their skills. Wrist spinners have been in the trend in international cricket in recent times.

They are particularly very impressive in the limited-overs formats. The camp could help Sri Lankan cricket, as World Cup is fast approaching in 15 months time.

Sri Lankan Cricket in Transition

The Island Nation were one of the best cricketing teams in the world. But they had fallen down the ladder in recent years. The lack of proper structure in domestic level had hurt Sri Lankan cricket dearly in past years.

They failed to replace the big shoes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, T Dilshan and declining Lasith Malinga on their roster. This has had serious implications, as they even started losing against the likes of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.