Geoff Marsh named coach of Sri Lanka team

Geoff Marsh, the former Australia batsman and coach, has been appointed coach of the Sri Lankan team, filling the vacancy created by Trevor Bayliss' departure after the 2011 World Cup. Marsh's two-year term begins on September 27 and he will not continue coaching the Pune Warriors IPL franchise.

"I told Pune Warriors and they were very good about it. Coaching an international team takes a lot of time and being able to fit both of them in just wouldn't have happened," Marsh, who was with Pune during IPL 2011, told ESPNcricinfo. "They're very comfortable with it. I enjoyed my year at Pune Warriors. They're a fantastic family. They could see that coaching an international team is an honour, so it was all good."

Marsh had been in talks with Sri Lanka Cricket when he was in the country during Australia's recent tour. His appointment ends a period of upheaval in Sri Lankan coaching following Bayliss' exit. Stuart Law, who was Bayliss' assistant, took over for the England tour before quitting to coach Bangladesh. Rumesh Ratnayake was in charge of the Sri Lanka side for the home series against Australia.

Marsh played 50 Tests and 119 ODIs for Australia, and was a member of the World Cup winning side in 1987. After retirement, he became a level 3 qualified coach and was at the helm of the Australian side from 1995 to 1999, when he became the first - and so far only - cricketer to win the World Cup both as player and coach. Subsequently, he took over as coach of Zimbabwe from 2000 to 2004. He was also a national selector for the Australian team.

Marsh continues the trend of Australians coaching Sri Lanka, after Dav Whatmore, John Dyson, Tom Moody, Bayliss and Law.