Sri Lanka appoint Nic Pothas as fielding coach

Nic Pothas, the former South African wicketkeeper-batsman, was named Sri Lanka's fielding coach on Friday (July 29). The 42-year-old was previously Director of Cricket at Guernsey and was Leicestershire county's academy director when Sri Lanka Cricket approached to hire his services.


"We always believe in engaging the best professional advice and technical support for our national team. Fielding is an area we intend to focus strongly on," Thilanga Sumanthipala, president of SLC, said in an official statement. "We are grateful to Leicestershire County for agreeing to release Nic Pothas."

As Sri Lanka continue their rebuilding and transition phase, Sumanthipala praised the team's improvement in batting and bowling, but identified fielding as an area of concern. Pothas's appointment, according to the board president, will provide the 'necessary boost'.

"Our last few outings are showing a marked improvement in the batting and bowling both, however our fielding has been letting us down and Pothus joining the support team already in place will give the necessary boost to this important area.

"It is the focus of my administration to build Sri Lankas next world champion team. We will deploy the necessary resources and invest in the infrastructure to make this happen," Sumanthipala added.

Pothas played just three One-Day Internationals, but made 218 first-class appearances for Hampshire, scoring over 11,000 runs, taking 614 catches and effecting 45 stumpings. He will join up with the Sri Lankan squad on August 8.