SL vs ENG: ECB appoint Kallis as batting consultant

Jacques Kallis, South Africa’s legendary all-rounder has been appointed as England’s batting consultant for the two match Test series against Sri Lanka in January, 2021. Kallis has worked in a similar role last season for the Proteas before a shake-up in the administration saw Neil Mckenzie appointed to the role of High-Performance Batting Consultant.

Kallis boasts an impressive Test batting average of 55.62 in the sub-continent and eight of his 45 hundreds have come here. The South African is expected to have had detailed talks with the England Cricket Board, who are looking to fill up their coaching vacancies in the batting, pace bowling and spin departments.

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The ECB have decided to adopt a rotational strategy for players and coaching staff to minimize the stress of being confined in a bio-secure bubble. Graham Thorpe, assistant to Chris Silverwood, will not travel to Sri Lanka but is expected to join the English squad for the all-important tour of India, which includes four Test matches, five T20Is and three ODIs.

Other support staff members for the Sri Lankan tour include Jon Lewis (fast bowling), Jeetan Patel (spin) and James Foster (wicketkeeping). England are scheduled to leave for Sri Lanka on January 2 with the first Test match commencing in Galle from January 14.

England’s recent tour of South Africa was abruptly called off after there were a few positive covid-19 cases in both camps. A recently discovered strain of covid-19 in the UK has led many countries to close their boundaries with them, which raises doubts over the feasibility of England’s tour of Sri Lanka.