Former English batter Ian Bell to become Sri Lanka's batting coach ahead of England tour

Sri Lanka has appointed England's former batter Ian Bell as their batting coach for the upcoming England tour. England is hosting the Island Nation for a 3-match Test series, which will fall under the WTC 2025 cycle. This is an important series for England as their chances to qualify for the WTC finals will be boosted if they win all the matches. Moreover, Bell was a brilliant batter, and he could handle the position well. 

"We appointed Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key insights on the conditions there. Ian has a lot of experience playing in England, and we believe his input will help our team in this crucial tour," said SLC CEO Ashley De Silva.

It's a good call from the Sri Lankan management to make Bell the coach. Furthermore, the series will be important for Sri Lanka as well. After a successful ODI series against India, they'll be confident to play against England. While the conditions might not go in their favour, Bell's contribution and insights will be quite valuable in the series. 

ECB to collab with Scotland for LA Olympics 2028

For the upcoming Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, the England Cricket Board (ECB) has planned to collaborate with the Scotland Board to form a squad. According to reports, they will make a squad and play under Great Britain (GB). An official confirmation is awaited from the officials. 

"With the Los Angeles Olympics four years away, it's very early stages, but we're talking to Team GB and Cricket Scotland about the next steps we need to take. Once again, Great Britain's Olympians have captured the national imagination with their exploits in Paris this year, and we look forward to working together to compete when cricket returns to the Olympic stage in 2028," said an ECB spokesperson as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo