Former England cricketer and former Durham head coach Jon Lewis has been named as Sri Lanka batting coach, confirmed by the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Thursday (December 13).

A highly-rated coach in England, Lewis, who is currently serving as bowling coach at Sussex County Cricket Club, is all set to replace incumbent Thilan Samaraweera as Lanka batting coach and will be part of the Sri Lanka set-up until the end of the 2019 World Cup to be played in England and Wales.

The 48-year-old will be joining the Sri Lankan squad after the upcoming two-match Test series against the Black Caps which will get underway from Friday and concludes on December 30, in time for the three-match One Day International series in New Zealand.

Samaraweera, who was roped in by SLC in November 2017, was contracted until the end of next year's World Cup but a string of dismal performances forced the board to take the decision.

SLC CEO Ashley de Silva is hoping that the newly-appointed coach would bring the much-required impetus to their batting to change their fortunes ahead of the showpiece event in England next year.

De Silva said in a statement, “With his expertise and experience, I believe, Lewis will be able to bring in the required impetus to our batting, which needs stability.”

Noteworthy, Lewis played 205 First-Class matches from 1990 to 2006 and amassed 10,821 runs at an average of 31.92 with 16 centuries. He played only Test, 13 ODIs and 2 T20Is for his country.

(With ANI Inputs)