Lankans must watch the Bermuda Triangle

Elmo Rodrigopulle

CRICKET: The Sri Lankan cricketers should not have to raise a sweat to win when they take on Bermuda in the first game of Group B in the World Cup tournament match at the Queens Park Oval, Trinidad today.

Bermuda have been so lowly rated that they have not come into the frame of the bookies. But the Lankans will do well to remember that a match is not won or lost till the final ball is bowled.

Unless the Lankans do something silly or the unforeseen happens, they should be aware of the dreaded Bermuda Triangle as it were, where airlines and ships have gone mysteriously missing and lose, which would be the biggest upset since the inception of the World Cup.

The fling against the weak opposition should be a good practice and the Lankans are sure to watch how the wicket would play and learn because their games against Bangladesh and India would be played on the same square.

The wicket in Jamaica where the Pakistanis lost to West Indies was on the slow side, with the ball not coming on to the bat. In addition there was early swing. Pakistan sent the Windies in and lost. All wickets have been relaid, and if what happened to the Pakistanis is a lesson the Sri Lankans would do well to always bat first, although they can afford to do the opposite against the weak Bermuda.

Of the four groups, group B is the toughest and there should be a lively contest between Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India in an endeavour to move on.

Sri Lanka will field their best possible team. While they will tend to take this one a bit easy, the team that plays against Bermuda will probably continue for the rest of the tournament, unless injury strikes a player.

While the batting is fairly stable, with the main strikers getting into the run act, the only worry is the miserable form of skipper Mahela Jayawardena. Jayawardena must be`wondering as to what witch doctor to go to, to cure his poor form which he is carrying. Probably his failure is that he is not watching the ball, moving his feet and getting into line before executing.

A competitive game is a game whatever the opposition and the Lankans while going for a win, must not forget to rewrite the record books by going for individual and total records, so that the International Cricket Council would be made to look silly and have to rethink before slotting in third rate teams, just for the sake of doing so and belittling the World Cup.

Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardena, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva or Russel Arnold if one of them plays and Ferveez Maharoof must make it a point to get into the run act.

When the opposition bats, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Ferveez Maharoof the pacies and spinners Muttiah Muralitheran and Malinga Bandara must all have`a good workout.

When on the field the Lankans must keep in mind that catches win matches, cut the twos into ones and be spot on with their throws.

There’s hardly anything to write about Bermuda, other than to mention the name of their skipper David Kemp who captains English county Glamorgan. Others are all three or four hour or weekend cricketers.

True that cricket must be diversified and developed, but certainly not in a tournament of this magnitude where the world’s best are playing.