Having missed one deadline for naming a national coach, Sri Lanka Cricket now feel the process will be concluded only after India fill their vacancy. But the delay has been due to uncertainty and a court case to be heard on Thursday, sources insist, and not a wait for India to take first pick.AFP quoted Jayantha Dharmadasa, chairman of the committee running Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) as saying that the the decision will not be taken before the Indians finish their interviews. ‘‘We have to realise that the Indian board is the richest in the world, coaching the Indian team a prestigious job. Since the Indian board kept things on a hold, our candidates wanted some time as well.’’Sources close to the committee say the petition, filed by the sacked board of Thilanga Sumathipala against the Minister of Sport’s decision to recognise the Interim Committee, comes before the courts on Thursday. Should the court rule in favour of the board, the case will go to appeal and then review.As this could take as long as 10 days, having meetings with whoever India didn’t want, was an easy escape route to take, the source admitted.‘‘Until the court decides we are going nowhere with the coach story and may even end up with an interim one,’ the source said. ‘‘There are several names and, yes, among them is Dean Jones. But until we get a court decision over the status of the interim committee, nothing can be decided.’’What is emerging is that Greg Chappell has all but disqualified himself. He explained to sources linked to SLC and the Interim Committee that he would prefer a consultancy position to that of a hands on-coach.Tom Moody is on India’s A-list too and reportedly is more than Sri Lanka can afford. In any event, say sources, he is financially secure and will not be excited by the legal squabbles within the SLC.It is also said that Stan Nell, the Sri Lanka A team coach, has been asked to report to the interim committee on Tuesday for talks with members. He may be used as an interim measure until the legal wrangle is sorted out.Nell was recruited by SLC last year where he ran the high performance centre at Monash University in Melbourne. After the latest wrangle, he might be wonder about the long-term stability in Sri Lanka.There is now some uncertainty in South Africa as well about the name of the next coach. Mickey Arthur, who played in the same Free State side as Hansie Cronje in the 1980s an 1990, has been linked to the post but players in the West Indies have been told that Vincent Barnes, assistant to Eric Simons and Ray Jennings, is now likely to get the post as a political appointment.
