Marsh aims first Test win post-Muralitharan retirement

The newly appointed Sri Lanka coach Geoff Marsh is looking for his team's first Test victory in the post-Muttiah Muralitharan era, when his boys take pn Pakistan in a Test series next month.

Sri Lanka travels to United Arab Emirates, Pakistan’s off shore venue in October to play a three-match Test series © Getty Images

Colombo: Sep 29, 2011

The newly appointed Sri Lanka coach Geoff Marsh is looking for his team’s first Test victory in the post-Muttiah Muralitharan era, when his boys take pn Pakistan in a Test series next month.

“I am aiming to take Sri Lanka to a new level,” Marsh, the former Australian opening batsman told reporters.

“Obviously, looking for the Test victory against Pakistan is the aim.”

Sri Lanka travels to United Arab Emirates, Pakistan’s off shore venue in October to play a three-match Test series.

Sri Lanka have gone through a phase of nine Test matches without a win since Muralitharan retired after the first Test against India at Galle in 2010.

Marsh said Tom Moody, the fellow Australian and a former Sri Lanka coach and Marsh’s two sons Shaun and Mitchell urged him to take up the assignment.

“My boys said go down there and take up the job (coaching Sri Lanka),” Marsh who witnessed Shaun scoring his debut Test century in Sri Lanka early this month said.

“Sri Lanka are in exactly the same position as Australia,” Marsh said adding that both nations are going through transition phase.

He said he was looking forward to the challenge of “coming up against my own boys,” referring to the prospect of Shaun and Mitchell Marsh playing for Australia when Sri Lanka tours there next year.

He said that although his present contract was limited to two years he would like to coach Sri Lanka to the next World Cup to be played in Australia in 2015.(PTI)