For their upcoming tour to South Africa, Sri Lanka has named Neil McKenzie, a former top-order batsman for South Africa, as their batting consultant. The former Proteas hitter will join the team between November 13 and November 21, according to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
Ashley de Silva, the CEO of SLC, expressed gratitude for Neil McKenzie’s inclusion in the setup
“McKenzie will bring in vital, in-depth insights about the South African conditions to help Sri Lankan players adapt to the challenge,” de Silva said, according to the ICC.
Since his international retirement in 2009, McKenzie, who had some success for South Africa in both Tests and ODIs, has been a part of several dressing rooms. McKenzie served as batting consultant for South Africa for the 2023 World Test Championship series against the West Indies, in which the Proteas easily defeated the Men in Maroon.
For the Lankans’ final Test series away from home in the current WTC cycle (2023–25), they will be looking to McKenzie for insightful commentary. He served as a batting coach for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League earlier in 2024.
at his playing days, he and former skipper Graeme Smith shared a historic 415-run partnership against Bangladesh at Chattogram. He also recorded his highest-ever Test score of 226 in the game, and McKenzie eventually left after 124 overs in the middle.
Sri Lanka is still hoping to make it to the WTC finals
According to the WTC points table for the current cycle, the islanders are presently in third place. There are more series left for Sri Lanka outside the two-Test series against South Africa.
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In fact, in 2025, they will have to contend with a couple of series at home against Australia. Sri Lanka would need to win at least three of their four games in order to guarantee a spot in the final and a place in the top two.
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