Thilan Samaraweera to join New Zealand camp ahead of Sri Lanka tour
Former Sri Lankan batsman Thilan Samaraweera is set to join the New Zealand camp to assist them with their batting for their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. Samaraweera is set to assist batting coach Peter Fulton in order to help the Kiwi batsmen acclimatize with the spin-friendly batting conditions.
New Zealand have sought the help of former Sri Lankan batsman Thilan Samaraweera, who is set to join their camp as a temporary batting assistant for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka to help the batsmen counter the tricky conditions which are expected to overwhelmingly assist the spin bowlers. Samaraweera will serve alongside batting coach Peter Fulton in an attempt to help the Kiwi batsmen conquer the Lankan soil.
The series also marks the debut of Fulton as the batting coach of New Zealand, who has taken over the responsibility from Craig McMillan, whose contract ended at the end of the World Cup.
"We're delighted to welcome Thilan into our environment for the Test phase of the tour. His knowledge of Sri Lankan conditions will be invaluable," said head coach Gary Stead in an official press release, reported Cricbuzz.
"He'll offer great assistance to Fulton on his first tour. Having an extra support coach worked really well for us at the World Cup, where we had Luke Ronchi on board, and we're sure Thilan will also offer a lot to the group," he added.
Samaraweera, who previously worked as a batting coach for Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and a consultant coach for Australia, has represented Sri Lanka in 81 Tests, scoring 14 centuries, which includes two double-centuries.