Sri Lanka stick to same openers

Sa'adi Thawfeeq reporting from England

CRICKET: Nothing it seems will alter the line of thinking of the Sri Lanka team management, as they pursue their task of finding a suitable opening partner to Upul Tharanga.

Twenty-one year Tharanga has more or less cemented his place in the Sri Lanka Test side for the simple reason that he has performed the best out of the three openers not only on this tour, but also in New Zealand (where he made his maiden one-day hundred) and in Bangladesh (where he scored his maiden Test century).

So for tomorrow's four-day game against county championship leaders Sussex in this coastal county at Hove, Sri Lanka is looking to play both Michael van Dort (26 years) and Jehan Mubarak (25) along with Tharanga. With Marvan Atapattu's international career on the line following an operation he has undergone on his painful spine in Australia last week, it is imperative that Sri Lanka use this tour to find two openers who could serve them well in the future.

Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody said that Mubarak was given the opportunity to play at Lord's and he will be given another chance against Sussex to stake his claim. He said that Vandort would also be given the chance to put pressure on him.

"There is an obvious vacancy for someone to grab hold of," said Moody. "We need to be playing the guys who are fronting up tomorrow. They need the opportunity to find some form and prepare them for the Test match."

"All we are concentrating now is working very hard with a young and exciting squad in a transitional period. As long as we are patient and show faith in these young players the future of Sri Lanka cricket is in good shape. It has been moving in the right direction for six months. In an ideal world we will win every game we play but that's not a possible scenario," he said.

With a ten-day gap between the Lord's Test and the second Test beginning at Edgbaston on May 25, the game against Sussex is important for Sri Lanka's top order batsmen to keep the momentum going. In that aspect Sri Lanka are likely to play their full batting line up barring Tillakaratne Dilshan who is being rested for a mild hamstring injury.

"It's a crucial game for us because it is important that we continue the positive momentum we've taken from Lord's into this game. Hopefully we will get some very good practice what's going to be an important second Test," said Moody. Moody said that Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas would also be rested because of the heavy workload they will be asked to do in international cricket. "Given the wicket at Lord's both teams found it difficult to take 20 wickets. Bowling is an area we need to look at.

The game against Sussex will be an opportunity for players like (Nuwan) Zoysa and Lasith Malinga to stake their claim. We need to see who the form bowler is because we want to go into the second Test match wanting to win so we need to take 20 wickets," said Moody.

Moody said that Prasanna Jayawardene would be keeping wickets in this 4-day game giving Sangakkara a rest. "It gives Sanga an opportunity to freshen up his hands and legs because he's got a huge workload as a top order player and a 'keeper. PJ will also get an opportunity as a 'keeper and also as a middle-order batsman," said Moody.

"Moody also hinted at the opportunity of Jayawardene keeping wickets in the second Test provided he makes good runs in this match and allowing Sangakkara to concentrate on his batting. "PJ has worked very hard on his game. He's performed well on the 'A' team over the past 12 months.

There is no reason why he is not come into consideration as a keeper batsman or a batsman alone," he said.

PROBABLE SRI LANKA XI:

Upul Tharanga, Jehan Mubarak, Michael van Dort, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Tilan Samaraweera (or Chamara Kapugedera), Prasanna Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Zoysa, Malinga Bandara, Farveez Maharoof (or Nuwan Kulasekera).