Attack survivor Farbrace named Sri Lanka coach

Englishman Paul Farbrace, who was wounded in the infamous 2009 shooting attack on the Sri Lankan team bus, was appointed the head coach of the national side on Friday. The 46-year-old, who has been recently coaching his former English county side Yorkshire, is replacing South African Graham Ford who had already announced plans to stand down after an ongoing series against Pakistan. "SLC wishes to thank Yorkshire Cricket Club for being generous enough to release Farbrace for duty in Sri Lanka," Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement. "The commencement of his contract will be in effect from 1st January 2014 for a period of two years," the board added. There was no immediate comment from Farbrace, but he told website ESPNcricinfo two months ago that he was flattered to have been approached for the Sri Lanka coaching job. "It's nice to know people think I did a good enough job the last time I was there," he said. Farbrace, a former assistant coach to the Sri Lankan team under Trevor Bayliss, was wounded along with seven Sri Lankan players in March 2009 when a dozen gunmen opened fire on their bus in Lahore, Pakistan. He left his post soon after the attack, in which he was struck by a piece of shrapnel in his right arm. His first assignment will be at the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in February. He will then coach the team at the next World Twenty20, which is also due to be held in Bangladesh in March-April. Ford's last assignment with Sri Lanka will be the ongoing series of three Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 games against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. Under Ford, Sri Lanka were runners-up to the West Indies in the World Twenty20 in 2012 and also won a home Test series against Pakistan. Source: AFP