Ford praises Jayawardene for giving support – Cricket News Update
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397 for giving him much-needed support after he was appointed the team’s Head Coach in controversial circumstances.
Ford took charge of the team following the conclusion of the South African tour in early January this year, taking over from Australian http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Geoffrey-Robert-Marsh-c58893, whose contract was terminated by the Lankan board after just three months.
Marsh was given the role ahead of the team’s bouts against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, and further worked with the team during the subsequent tour against the Proteas. Although the team lost both the series, they still collected their first Test victory on South African soil.
His sacking was deemed ‘disgraceful’ and ‘unprofessional’ by former Lankan skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Simon-James-Marshall-c90362 further sent a letter of demand to the Lankan board.
Despite such testing times, the team fared well under the mentorship of Ford. They reached the finals of the Commonwealth Bank series Down Under, and also registered their maiden Test series’ win since the retirement of spin wizard http://www.senore.com/Cricket/M-Muralitharan-c1864.
However, they failed to win the World T20 Cup, staged in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KC-Sangakkara-c1779 and Tillakaratne Dilshan have stood out and shared the major scoring workload.
With a tough Test series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 coming up, Ford was keen to praise Jayawardene’s leadership skills and the support he gave to him. The veteran batsman was installed as the skipper of the side for a second time earlier in the year, but has openly claimed the desire to relinquish his role when the team finds a suitable replacement.
“The example set by some of the senior players is fantastic for the younger guys coming through. If we can keep that going, in time it will become part of the cricketing culture in the dressing room.
“Initially the language barrier with a number of players was a challenge, fortunately with a great captain and some of the senior players who do speak English pretty well and, the coaches I managed to overcome a lot of those challenges. They've been great in helping along the way.”
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