Advertisement

Sri Lanka coach Farbrace quits for England post

Sri Lanka's cricket team coach Paul Farbrace attends a training session ahead of their ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup semi-final match against West Indies in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, April 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka coach Paul Farbrace resigned on Tuesday just three months into his two-year contract to become the England assistant coach.

Sri Lanka Cricket announced Farbrace's move in a statement.

The SLC and England and Wales Cricket Board had been in negotiations over compensation for Farbrace's early release. He was contracted to December 2015.

During his short stint, Farbrace coached Sri Lanka to World Twenty20 and Asia Cup championships and the team lost just one match in 18 outings.

However, he left for England immediately after the World Twenty20 victory over India, and Sri Lankan officials expressed surprise on being told by the ECB that it was interested in recruiting Farbrace as one of their coaches and sought his early release.

Peter Moores was unveiled as the new England coach on Saturday, and Farbrace will be his assistant in all three formats.

Their first assignment will be against Sri Lanka, which begins a 14-match tour of England and Ireland in less than two weeks.

Farbrace, an Englishman, kept wicket for Kent and Middelesex before taking to coaching. He was Sri Lanka's assistant coach for three years, and was wounded by shrapnel when the national team was attacked by terrorists in Pakistan in 2009.