Canada have appointed former Sri Lankan international Pubudu Dassanayake as their new coach, with the Canadian citizen due to start the job on October 1st.

He played 11 tests and 16 one-day internationals for Sri Lanka, often as wicket-keeper and also played for Canada in 2005 and 2006.

He has coaching experience both in Canada and Sri Lanka, and had previously served as interim coach of Canada following the departure of Andy Pick after the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, in which Canada finished bottom of their group.

Ben Sennik, Canadian Cricket Association President, says, “We’re very pleased to have arrived at a ‘made-in-Canada’ solution in respect to our next national coach. It’s clear to all involved in Canadian cricket - both internationally and within Canada itself - that the game is growing rapidly here. We need to have an experienced individual in place to provide the guidance to our seniors and junior cricketers. Pubudu knows the Canadian cricket scene well, and we’re confident that he is going to do an excellent job for cricket in Canada.” Cricket world