County spin duo spend winter in Sri Lanka with well respected coach

James Coles and Thilan Walallawita have both teamed up – independently of their counties – with former Sri Lanka spinner Sachith Pathirana

Two of county cricket's most promising left-arm spinners have spent their winters in Sri Lanka, honing their skills with an increasingly in-demand specialist coach.

James Coles and Thilan Walallawita have both teamed up – independently of their counties – with former Sri Lanka spinner Sachith Pathirana.

Walallawita, the Middlesex spinner, recommended Pathirana to Coles, the young Sussex allrounder, after working with him early in the winter.

Pathirana, 33, represented Sri Lanka 23 times in white-ball cricket before retiring to focus on coaching, where he has built up an impressive CV that has piqued interest abroad.

^{Sachith Pathirana has been helping English spinners in Sri Lanka [Getty Images]}

^{James Coles of Sussex has flown out for training [Getty Images]}

In December, he was part of the Jaffna Kings backroom team that won the Lanka Premier League for the third time, while as head coach he guided Tamil Union to the final of Sri Lanka's first-class tournament before Christmas.

He took on that job last April, until which point he had been Sri Lanka Under-19s' spin bowling coach.

That collection of experiences means he has worked closely with several of Sri Lanka's leading spinners: Wanindu Hasaranga and Mahesh Theekshana at Jaffna; Dhananjaya de Silva and Jeffery Vandersay at Tamil Union; Dunith Wellalage at under-19 level.

In the winter of 2019, an England specialist spin camp in Mumbai utilised the expertise of Pathirana's countryman, Rangana Herath, who has most recently worked as a spin-bowling consultant for Bangladesh.

^{Thilan Walallawita of Middlesex has also trained with Pathirana [Getty Images]}

Coles, 18, has already played 20 matches for Sussex, with 28 wickets to show for his efforts so far as a talented allrounder. He was part of the England Under-19 squad that reached the World Cup final in 2022 but had his opportunities restricted by the presence of Jacob Bethell and Rehan Ahmed. He is currently with the Gary Kirsten Academy in South Africa but is set to join up with England Under-19s in Australia.

For Walallawita, working with Pathirana means travelling back to the country of his birth. The Middlesex spinner, 24, moved to England 12 years ago though was only last March granted the British citizenship he requires to feature in county cricket as a local player.

He endured a frustrating summer, however, struggling to force his way into Middlesex's side. As part of his trip back to Sri Lanka, he turned out for Panadura in one first-class game. He is now back in pre-season training in London.

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