Weather may determine fate of Kandy Test

SA'ADI Thawfeeq reporting from Asgiriya

KANDY, Thursday - The fickle weather in Kandy is expected to play a key role in not only determining the fate of the second cricket Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies, but also the composition of the teams.

It had been raining on and often in the past two days here, which has resulted in the pitch being covered. This has made both teams wary of what the pitch might have to offer.

Only today did the pitch get fully exposed to the sun, which was extremely hot and allowed both teams to have their first knock in the nets since arriving here two days ago.

Anuruddha Polonowita, Sri Lanka Cricket's director of pitches said that it would be a typical Asgiriya pitch. He said as a result of the pitch not getting its expected amount of exposure to the sun there would be some wetness beneath although the top would be dry.

Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody was confident his team would improve from the SSC Test and perform with conviction here.

"The batting corrected itself from the first innings it got better in the second innings. I am sure it will get better in the second Test," said Moody.

"A lot of the players have been without match practice for sometime. It's only natural that they take time to adjust to spending time in the middle.

You can have so many nets in preparation to any match but the time in the middle you spend is invaluable. The guys have built from that after the first Test and hope to pay dividends in this Test match."

"As a coach I want to get the Test matches over and done with and have a successful Test campaign and then focus on the one-dayers," he said.

Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu said that selections would not be hampered by the flu that has hit some of the key players in the team like Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan. They did not exert themselves too much today but finished their bowling stints and retired to the comfort of the pavilion to rest.

Atapattu said the viral flu was not a major concern and that the entire squad of 14 was available for selection.

"Basically half the team went through this flu. At the moment it is Vaasy and Murali who are really not 100 percent but will be tomorrow," said Atapattu.

"The manager (Michael Tissera) is the one who contacted the flu first about three weeks ago. I got it during the 2-day game and it has spread ever since to most of the guys."

"The illness does not worry me but we don't want to be overconfident. We want to make sure that no complacency creeps into the side. It is another Test match and we will try and play to the best of our ability."

"The conditions here determine most of the things especially the wicket being under cover for two days. There are so many things that we have to take into account. Our batting hasn't been the best in the last game. There's a possibility that we may strengthen our batting," said Atapattu.

If that is the case then Russel Arnold is likely to get the nod ahead of all-rounder Gayan Wijekoon who made his Test debut at the SSC.

Half of Sri Lanka's batting problems will be solved if the openers Atapattu and his long-standing partner Sanath Jayasuriya can set the pace for the rest of the team to follow.

They are the most experienced pair of openers in the world today with Atapattu having appeared in 82 Tests and Jayasuriya in 97.

Together they have piled up eleven and a half thousand runs with 30 centuries. This pair should set the benchmark for the rest of the batsmen who follow.

Windies not under a cloud over Lawson

West Indies is not trying to let the reporting of fast bowler Jermaine Lawson cloud their preparations for the Test. It is a Test, which they need to win if they hope to draw the two-match series which Sri Lanka are leading 1-0 after their six wickets win at the SSC.

"We'll have to go out and play some tough cricket and try to win this one. Hopefully the guys can come out and perform better than the first game," said West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

"We have a bunch of young guys here who are willing to work. As much as we talk we have to go back and just look at their mistakes and move ourselves forward instead of thinking about the past."

"We still know that Sri Lanka can come out and play better cricket. We are still on the lookout hoping that we can do better in this game than the last one. We have to stick to our plans and if we can do that and execute it, it can be beneficial to us on the long term," he said.

Chanderpaul said that Lawson who was reported for a suspect bowling action after the SSC Test was available for selection.

"We have to support Jermaine. We also support ICC and their decision. Hopefully Jermaine can come out on top of that and we think it will clear up," said Chanderpaul. "We should not worry too much about it. Jermaine will have to focus on this game and worry about his future later."

Chanderpaul said his batsmen had done a lot of homework on Vaas and Muralitharan who destroyed their batting in the SSC Test by taking 14 wickets between them.

"They are the two experienced bowlers in the Sri Lankan team. Murali is one of the top bowlers in the world and Vaas is also not far away. We have seen what they can do. We have to go there and be prepared to face them," said Chanderpaul.

He said his bowlers would also have to tighten their line and length if they are to restrict the Sri Lankan batsmen.

"In the first innings we had a good opportunity to finish the game off earlier and get them out a littler cheaper. In the second innings we strayed a little bit and weren't putting the ball in the right areas. Hopefully we will get them right this time around," said Chanderpaul.

The teams: SRI LANKA (from): Marvan Atapattu (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tilan Samaraweera, Chaminda Vaas, Rangana Herath, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Gayan Wijekoon, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana.

WEST INDIES (from): Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Sylvester Joseph, Xavier Marshall, Runako Morton, Narasingh Deonarine, Dwayne Smith, Denesh Ramdin, Omari Banks, Darren Powell, Tino Best, Jermaine Lawson, Ryan Ramdass.

UMPIRES: Simon Taufel (Australia) and Tony Hill (New Zealand), TV Umpire: Tyronne Wijewardene (Sri Lanka), Match Referee: Mike Procter (South Africa).