Penney to be interim coach of Sri Lanka

Trevor Penney, the assistant coach of Sri Lanka during Tom Moody's tenure, will take over as coach until they find a replacement for Moody.

"Trevor's contract runs until the end of August so he will be in charge alongside Rumesh Ratnayake [a former Sri Lankan fast bowler]," a Sri Lanka Cricket source told AFP. "We are not in a hurry to appoint a new coach and will let the process run its course." Penney and Ratnayake will be in charge for the home series against Bangladesh, which begins in June.

Sri Lanka Cricket had shortlisted several contenders to replace Moody, who was leaving to coach Western Australia after completing his two-year contract with Sri Lanka. Penney will join him after his contract expires in August.

The early frontrunner for the Sri Lanka job, John Wright, had apparently ruled himself out. Other interested candidates included Jamie Siddons, Dave Houghton, Greg Shipperd, Terry Oliver, Trevor Bayliss and Graham Ford.

Siddons is assistant coach of the Australian team and a senior coach at the Center for Excellence in Brisbane. Houghton, the former Zimbabwe captain, is presently coaching Derbyshire. Shipperd is the coach of Victoria while Oliver had success coaching Queensland. Baylisss made his mark as head coach of New South Wales and Ford who coaches Kent was a former coach of South Africa.