COLOMBO, Jan 4: Struggling Sri Lanka have hired sports psychologist Sandy Gordon in a bid to arrest their decline ahead of a triangular one-day cricket series in Australia, a top official said here on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Duleep Mendis said the move would help the team, which has slipped from second to sixth position in one-day rankings after losing eight of their nine one-dayers in the past two months.

“We are in serious trouble,” Mendis told reporters here.

“I can see the body language (of the players) and it is clear the team has lost confidence. Mentally, they are down. It is a very important time. Hopefully, we will benefit out of it.”—AFP