Ex-Sri Lanka Skipper’s Newfound Passion in Melbourne’s North: Shashikala Siriwardene Begins a New Chapter as Plenty Valley Coach

Ex-Sri Lanka Skipper’s Newfound Passion in Melbourne’s North: Shashikala Siriwardene Begins a New Chapter as Plenty Valley Coach

Photo: Cricket Australia

Former Sri Lanka captain Shashikala Siriwardene has begun a new chapter in cricket, taking charge of the women’s teams at Plenty Valley Cricket Club in Melbourne’s north for the 2026–27 season. After a distinguished playing career that spanned 17 years and ended in Melbourne, she is now focused on helping young cricketers develop their skills, confidence and connection to the game.

The appointment marks Siriwardene’s first season devoted solely to coaching. She had served as captain-coach at Plenty Valley the previous year, combining leadership and playing responsibilities before stepping away from the field to concentrate on guiding the club’s players.

> “I’m at Plenty Valley Cricket Club in Victoria as the coach of the women’s teams”

> “It is my first year purely as a coach. I was a captain-coach last year so this is my first season not playing.”

The move carries a notable geographical symmetry. Siriwardene’s playing career took her from an international debut in the West Indies to her final game in Melbourne, 17 years later; now her head coaching journey is beginning just 55 kilometres from where her international playing career ended.

Shashikala Siriwardene playing for Box Hill Cricket Club. Photo: Cricket Australia

From international leader to developing coach

Siriwardene retired from international cricket after the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Her transition into coaching began with formal training, followed by an opportunity to work with Sri Lanka’s Under-19 women’s team before its inaugural Under-19 Women’s World Cup.

> “After I retired, I started doing my Level 2 coaching and wanted to get more involved. I was able to work with the Under 19 Sri Lankan team before the inaugural Under 19 Women’s World Cup and really enjoyed it”

That experience encouraged her to broaden her coaching knowledge abroad.

> “I wanted to keep growing my experience, so I moved to Australia to learn more as I was forming my coaching career.”

Her first Australian club was Wynnum-Manly in Brisbane, where she joined as a player and assistant coach. Rather than enter the new environment only from the sidelines, she chose to experience local cricket as a participant and learn its rhythms from the ground up.

> “When I moved here, I thought that because it is a new atmosphere, I should experience it from the ground up, so that meant experiencing cricket in Australia as a player”

The decision brought sporting opportunity, while also requiring adjustment to life far from family in Sri Lanka.

> “I really enjoyed it. I realised that I still have cricket in me. It was tough moving to a new country with a lot of my family back in Sri Lanka but the cricket helped a lot, it was competitive and very enjoyable.”

Siriwardene moved to Box Hill Cricket Club in Melbourne in 2024, then crossed to Plenty Valley in 2025 as captain-coach. Her shift to a coaching-only position for 2026–27 represents a further step in a career now centred on teaching, supporting and shaping the next generation.

AI-generated illustration of a coach helping young cricketers develop their skills.

Building a strong club culture

At Plenty Valley, Siriwardene is working with a group that includes many young players. Her approach combines player development with the team’s ambition to perform well, placing equal importance on learning and creating an environment in which young women can grow.

> “We have a lot of young players at our club, so for me it has been focusing on development, but also on results”

> “We are wanting to play to win but also develop our young players and really create a strong culture for these girls.”

The emphasis on culture reflects a coaching outlook that is wider than technical instruction. Building confidence, encouraging commitment and helping players find a place in the sport can all contribute to a sustainable club programme. For young cricketers, access to an experienced former international offers a direct connection to the lessons gained through years of leadership and competition.

A witness to the growth of women’s cricket

Siriwardene made her international debut in 2003, when women’s cricket in Sri Lanka was not under the control of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board. Over the years that followed, she witnessed the women’s game expand in Sri Lanka and internationally, developing structures and pathways and increasingly becoming a full-time profession.

Her own career record places her among Sri Lanka’s most accomplished women cricketers. She is the only Sri Lankan cricketer to pass 1,000 runs and take 100 wickets in women’s One-Day International cricket, finishing with 2,029 runs and 124 wickets in the format.

Looking back on the game’s earlier landscape, she recalled how much smaller the playing base once was.

> “When I started, there were like six clubs, maybe 200 to 400 players involved”

She has also seen the growth of systems that allow former players to remain connected to cricket in different roles.

> “Since then, we have seen a lot of growth, with new structures and systems in place to keep cricket growing and even keeping retired players within the game through different avenues.”

The global visibility of women in coaching has also grown. Cricket Australia’s feature noted the leadership roles held by Shelley Nitschke with Australia and Charlotte Edwards with England, as well as former wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor’s work as fielding and wicketkeeping coach for the England men’s team. Such examples reflect a widening range of pathways for accomplished players to contribute after their playing careers.

> “There are huge opportunities now for past players to stay in the game, whether it be through coaching or other paths”

For Siriwardene, those opportunities carry a responsibility to pass knowledge on.

> “It’s very important for us to give back to the game. We have been playing for generations and need to continue to grow women’s cricket and teach the younger players coming through.”

> “If even one young girl can learn from us and it helps them, then that makes it important, no matter the level. We need to give back what we gain from cricket.”

Shashikala Siriwardene in action at the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup. Photo: Getty Images

Looking ahead, one player at a time

Her immediate focus remains the work at Plenty Valley: helping players improve and contributing to the club’s women’s programme. She describes the satisfaction of coaching in personal terms, rooted in the progress she sees in those she supports.

> “I love coaching, love helping our players and seeing them improve. It gives me a lot of satisfaction”

Siriwardene’s longer-term ambitions include coaching at state level in Australia or, one day, returning to lead Sri Lanka in a coaching capacity. She is clear, however, that her present stage is one of continued learning.

> “I want to keep coaching for as long as I can, no matter what level. I would eventually love to coach at the state level in Australia, or even coach Sri Lanka one day. But right now, I’m still learning, I’ll never stop learning, but I am really enjoying myself and happy to just be involved in the game.”

For Sri Lankans in Australia and readers following Sri Lankan achievers around the world, Siriwardene’s story is a source of pride: a celebrated national player building a new professional life abroad while helping young women find their own place in cricket. Her work in Melbourne carries forward the experience of a pioneer, not through the pursuit of personal milestones, but through the steady, instrumental contribution of teaching the next generation.

Focus keyphrase: Shashikala Siriwardene Plenty Valley coach
Meta description: Former Sri Lanka captain Shashikala Siriwardene begins her first season as Plenty Valley’s full-time women’s coach, developing young cricketers in Melbourne.

Tags: Shashikala Siriwardene, Sri Lankan women’s cricket, Plenty Valley Cricket Club, Sri Lankans in Australia

Sources:

• Cricket Australia, by Dylan Carmody: https://www.cricket.com.au/news/4599321/ex-sri-lanka-skippers-newfound-passion-in-melbournes-north-cricket
• Newswire: https://www.newswire.lk/2026/10/28/former-sri-lanka-captain-shashikala-siriwardene-takes-up-coaching-role-in-australia/
• SriLankaSports.com: https://www.srilankasports.com/2026/10/28/shashikala-siriwardene-takes-charge-as-plenty-valley-womens-head-coach-in-australia/

This article was written based on the sources listed above. Kindly email us at info@eLanka.com.au if any information needs to be corrected.

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