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Botham to coach Lankan bowlers

The Sri Lankan board today named a shortlist of 19 for the World Cup.

Or did they?

Every news agency worth the name insists that the Lankan shortlist is out. The Sri Lankan board insists that it is not.

Our call to the Lankan board was fielded by a lady named Gayatri -- who described herself as "the person in charge of these affairs".

The selectors have not picked the shortlist, she insisted. Whatever has appeared in sections of the media is unofficial, and not final, she maintained.

Dhammika Ranatunga, head of the Lankan board, was in a meeting and unavailable for comment, she said.

As per information received, the selectors (minus Asantha de Mel, who is in India at this point in time) did meet, together with Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda D'Silva, a shortlist was drawn up at the end of a stormy, three hour meeting -- but it is all a bit iffy at this point, and will remain so until the sports ministry formally clears the names.

Which, at the time of writing this, the sports ministry has not yet done. The official Lankan shortlist, thus, is expected 'within a week', according to Gayatri.

Official or no, the shortlist arrived at by the national selectors include controversial off spinner Kumara Dharmasena.

Officials of the Lankan board said that Dharmasena, who has been in training to change his bowling action, will have to be cleared by the International Cricket Council before he gets a place in the final 15 bound for England.

In a recent letter to the Lankan board, the ICC had cautioned that Dharmasena ran the risk of being called for throwing if he did not correct his action.

An expected omission was that of Roshan Mahanama, the out of form middle order batsman.

Lanka's famed opener Sanath Jayasuriya, who broke an arm during the recent tour of Australia, and off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who was also injured, have been included in the squad.

Lanka has also sought the help of Ian Botham, former England all rounder, to coach its fast bowlers and prepare them for the World Cup.

"We felt the need for a good coach for our medium-pace and fast bowlers, and Ian Botham is the natural choice,'' said Thilanga Sumathipala, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka. Botham has been contracted for a period of two years, he added.

The board will retain the services of current head coach Roy Dias, a former Sri Lankan Test cricketer who replaced Australian Bruce Yardley last year.

Sri lanka, the reigning champion of one-day cricket, has fared badly in recent matches, winning only three of ten played in a three-nation tournament in Australia that also featured England.

Sri Lanka will play England at Lord's on May 14 in the World Cup inaugural match. Other teams in Group A include South Africa, India, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

The shortlist of 19: Arjuna Ranatunga (captain), Aravinda D'Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Marvan Atapattu, Avishka Gunawardene, Mahela Jayawardene, Hashan Tillekeratne, Upul Chandana, Chaminda Vaas, Kumara Dharmasena, Suresh Perera, Promodaya Wickremasinghe, Ruwan Kalpage, Nuwan Zoysa, Muthaiah Muralitharan, Chandika Hathurusinghe, Eric Upashantha, Hemantha Boteju.

With agencies