Sri Lanka's government-appointed cricket board is determined to defeat India in the race for a new national coach by naming their choice by the end of this week, a top official said on Monday. "We will have a new man before the week ends," Jayantha Dharmadasa, the interim head of Sri Lanka Cricket , said in an interview. Australians Greg Chappell and Tom Moody are short-listed by both countries to replace the outgoing coaches: John Wright from India and John Dyson from Sri Lanka. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Sunday it would finalise the new coach by June 15, but Sri Lanka appears to be faster off the blocks.
"We want our coach to take over as soon as possible to prepare for the Test series at home against the West Indies in mid-July," said Dharmadasa. "We need a man who can take us to the World Cup in 2007." Dharmadasa rubbished speculation that both Chappell and Moody, who are to be interviewed by the Indian cricket board at an unspecified date, may delay accepting the Sri Lankan job.