Sri Lanka Cricket has handed the women’s side to Jamie Siddons, the experienced Australian coach set to begin a one-year contract on 16 March 2026. The 61-year-old replaces Rumesh Ratnayake, whose largely unheralded stint ended quietly last December.
Ratnayake leaves the set-up in far better shape than he found it. Appointed in early 2023, he coaxed the team from also-rans to genuine contenders, the highlight a memorable Asia Cup triumph over India in 2024. The same period, though, showed how volatile progress can be: a winless exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup and a middling 50-over World Cup at home suggested there is still work to do.
Siddons inherits a young squad fresh from ODI and T20I series victories against West Indies. His first assignment is next month’s tour of Bangladesh, quickly followed by final preparations for the T20 World Cup in England this June. The schedule is tight, the expectations clear.
Few coaches arrive with a CV as well-rounded. Siddons guided Bangladesh’s men between 2007 and 2011, overseeing their first away Test series win, against West Indies. Either side of that posting he led Wellington Firebirds in New Zealand and South Australia’s Redbacks. “Siddons has also served as Head Coach of the South Australia Cricket Team (Redbacks) from 2015 to 2020 and Head Coach of the Wellington Firebirds, New Zealand, from 2011 to 2015,” added an SLC media release.
Those roles complement more than 10,000 Sheffield Shield runs amassed during a playing career in which he captained both Victoria and South Australia. Colleagues describe him as direct but patient, a mix that should suit a side still ironing out the inconsistencies exposed on the global stage.
The immediate goal is simple enough: reach the latter stages of the T20 World Cup. Longer term, Siddons has twelve months to embed the habits that turn occasional upsets into routine wins. The raw material is there; he will be judged on how quickly it hardens into something durable.
