NEWS
Follow UsSri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur is set to join English county Derbyshire as its head of cricket after his contract with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) ends with the Test series against West Indies in December.
Arthur's exit will mark Sri Lanka seventh head coach change in the last ten years while the support staff including bowling coach Chaminda Vaas, batting coach Grant Flower and fielding coach Shane McDermott face uncertain futures.
Arthur had previously coaches senior men's teams of Australia, South Africa and Pakistan besides Sri Lanka. The Australian will succeed Dave Houghton at Derbyshire who left his role earlier this year.
Sad that it is the end of the road with SL after the WI test series!I have loved every minute of coaching this great country!To the players and people of SL a big thank you!
— Mickey Arthur (@Mickeyarthurcr1) November 17, 2021
I know SL cricket is in a better place now than when I started!
"This is the start of an exciting project at Derbyshire, with many young players, and I'm really excited to be a part of that and to bring my vision to the Club. It's a new challenge and one which I'm eager to get stuck into and lead this Club to success," Arthur said in an official statement.
"There's a good squad at Derbyshire and I want us to play a positive style of cricket, we won't fear any team and I'm looking forward to seeing what we can achieve for our supporters."
After taking up the role as Sri Lanka head coach in December, 2019, Arthur's stint was interrupted by the pandemic before overseeing mixed results. However, his faith in young players came to fruition in the T20 World Cup as players like Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga and Lahiru Kumara made a mark in the tournament. Hasaranga finished as the top wicket-taker with 16 wickets from eight matches despite Sri Lanka exited the competition in the Super 12s stage.
