COLOMBO — Sri Lanka Tuesday announced Angelo Mathews would return as skipper for limited-over cricket ahead of the 2019 World Cup, just six months after the allrounder stepped down from the post. The move comes as a surprise after Mathews, 30, quit last July as captain in all three formats of the game following repeated bouts of injury. Sri Lanka Cricket President Thilanga Sumathipala said the board asked Mathews to reconsider following close consultations with new coach Chandika Hathurusingha and team selectors. Mathews said he took a few days to decide before accepting the captaincy of Sri Lanka’s one-day and Twenty20 teams. “It is a national duty, and we need stability moving into a World Cup in 18 months,” said Mathews. Dinesh Chandimal remains Sri Lanka’s Test captain. Sumathipala said Mathews was expected to prepare the squad ahead of the World Cup in England and Wales in 2019. The returning captain will face his first test this month when Sri Lanka travels to Bangladesh for a tri-nation ODI tournament. The all-rounder bore the brunt of criticism after Sri Lanka’s embarrassing loss to lowly-ranked Zimbabwe in a home Test series last year. Mathews at the time described the shock defeat to Zimbabwe as the lowest point in his career and a “hard pill to swallow”. Sri Lanka’s 16-member squad for the tri-nation series: Angelo Mathews (captain), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Shehan Madushanka, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan and Wanidu Hasaranga. Ponting named Australia assistant coach for T20s Ricky Ponting will be an assistant coach during Australia’s Twenty20 International series against England and New Zealand next month, Cricket Australia said Tuesday. The former Australia captain will work under head coach Darren Lehmann, while Troy Cooley and Matthew Mott will help out during the series. They have been brought on board while regular support staff Graeme Hick, David Saker and Brad Haddin are in South Africa to assist in preparations for Australia’s four-Test tour from March. Lehmann has previously said he will not seek to renew his contract when his current deal expires at the end of 2019, with Ponting seen as a potential successor. Ponting undertook the T20 role last year when he worked with the Australia squad for the three-match series against Sri Lanka. He has extensive experience of the shortest form of the game, captaining his country in the first ever T20 international against New Zealand in 2005, and then leading the side in the first two editions of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 and 2009. “I loved working with the squad last year against Sri Lanka and I can’t wait to be working alongside Darren, Troy and Matthew this time around,” Ponting said. “Watching the Big Bash League in my role as a commentator has shown me we have a wealth of talent available to us in this format and a tri-series like this will give us a great chance to establish a pattern of play that works best for the players.” The T20 series will involve matches against New Zealand in Sydney (Feb. 3) and Auckland (Feb. 16) and England in Hobart (Feb. 7) and Melbourne (Feb. 10). — Agencies