Former England U-19 coach Tim Boon has joined as a coach and high-performance consultant for Sri Lanka Cricket, on a one-month contract effective from May 08.

Boon has worked as England’s team analyst under Duncan Fletcher during the 2005 Ashes win, will work as a batting consultant for the Sri Lanka Women’s senior and A-team squads, as well as the men’s emerging team and Sri Lanka U-17s.

According to the SLC press release, his programme will include “technical and tactical sessions aimed at improving the players’ overall batting approach and individual performance”.

His stint dovetails with that of R Sridhar, India’s former fielding coach, who earlier this month conducted a ‘comprehensive 10-day fielding programme’ for both top men’s and women’s cricketers in Sri Lanka.

It is a continuation of SLC’s policy of recruiting overseas coaches on short term contracts. Rajasthan Royals’ high performance director Zubin Bharucha conducted a brief programme aimed at raising batting standards.

Wasim Akram and Jonty Rhodes have also been hired to run brief bowling and fielding programmes respectively in the last 10 years.

Recently Sri Lanka Cricket has been making changes in setup aiming to improve the side’s all-over performance.

They have signed R Shridar to conduct a 10-day specialised programme for both men’s and women’s cricketers in Sri Lanka.

He will work closely with the national, high performance and club coaches during his 10-day stint at Sri Lanka Cricket.

Sridhar is the former left-arm spinner who played for Hyderabad in the Indian domestic circuit in the 1990s. He began his coaching career in 2001 and went on to work at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, with the India U19s as the 2014 World Cup.

Sridhar, a BCCI level 3 qualified coach, served as India’s fielding coach across more than 300 international matches from 2014 to 2021, which includes two ODIs and T20Is World Cup editions each.

“Sridhar, a BCCI Level 3 qualified coach, brings a wealth of experience, having served as India’s fielding coach across more than 300 international matches from 2014 to 2021,” said the SLC.