Colombo, April 7 The newly appointed head coach of the Sri Lanka women's cricket team, Jamie Siddons, urged the players on Tuesday to work hard to improve their skills and compete more effectively against top teams like India, Australia, and England.
Sri Lanka will face England, New Zealand, and the West Indies in the Women's T20 World Cup later this year, and Siddons wants to see tangible progress.
"I believe we need to develop more skills, hit the ball hard, and score more boundaries without being reckless," he told reporters here.
This will be Siddons' first experience coaching a women's team, having previously coached men's cricket teams, including Bangladesh from 2007-11.
His only international appearance for Australia was in 1988 in an ODI against Pakistan.
Siddons said his first task would be to guide the team during its tour to Bangladesh, which begins on April 20.
"That's where we will focus on establishing our playing style," he said, referring to the three-match T20 and ODI series.
Siddons acknowledged that Sri Lanka had performed poorly in the last two Women's World Cups, winning only one match.
"We need to see how we can improve our performance," Siddons said.
He said that India, Australia, New Zealand, and England are currently the top teams, and Sri Lanka is looking forward to doing well against England in the opening match of the World Cup in June.
"We are focusing on our first game against England, on their home ground and in their home country," Siddons said.
Siddons replaced Ramesh Ratnayake, who led the women's team to victory in the 2024 Asia Cup final, defeating India.