Bell named Sri Lanka batting coach for England tour

Ian Bell scored 7,727 Test runs for England between 2004 and 2015

Sri Lanka have appointed Ian Bell as their batting coach for the three-Test tour of England this month.

The former England and Warwickshire batter will begin his role on Friday, with the first Test at Old Trafford starting on Wednesday, 21 August.

Bell, 42, played 118 Tests for England between 2004 and 2015, with Sri Lanka hoping to use his knowhow of English cricket to their advantage.

"We appointed Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key insights on the conditions there," Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley de Silva said.

"We believe his inputs will help our team in this crucial tour."

Bell will work under former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya, who replaced former England head coach Chris Silverwood last month following Sri Lanka's early exit from the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States.

Bell, who recently worked as part of the Birmingham Phoenix coaching set-up in The Hundred, occupied a similar role during New Zealand's white-ball tour of England last year before the 2023 Cricket World Cup.