Test cricket was the real prize for any cricketer- Mahela

CRICKET: Embattled wicketkeeper Mark Boucher found support - albeit a bit too late - from an unexpected quarter yesterday.

Sri Lanka’s captain, Mahela Jayawardene, in an International Cricket Council conference call, said he too felt that success in Test cricket was the real prize for any international cricketer.

“It is the ultimate goal,” he said, “but these other forms of the game are exciting as well.”

South African Test and one-day wicketkeeper Boucher voiced similar sentiments 10 days ago and was very heavily punished by Cricket SA - apparently for this observation, among others.

Jaywardene, perhaps having heard of Boucher’s woes, said his preference for Test cricket was purely his personal point of view, and that he appreciated the excitement the new form of the game was bringing into cricket.

He admitted Sri Lanka were not particularly experienced in this shortest form of the game, but that they had every chance of doing well in the tournament. “We have only been playing for two years and countries like England have been playing a lot longer, so they have to be favourites,” he said.

“But if we have our game plans - our different strategies - and if we stick to them and execute them properly there is no reason why we should not go all the way,” he said.

He singled out explosive, veteran opening batsman, left-hander Sanath Jayasuriya, as a key figure up at the top of the batting order, but felt, like some others that bowlers would play a key part in the tournament.

“Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan - they are all wicket-takers in all forms of the game, and taking wickets up front in this format is particularly vital,” he said.

“If a side loses quick wickets in a Twenty20 game there is very little time to recover. So bowlers will be a key part.”

He said a challenge would be to get to grips with new tactics and a totally new approach , and it would not surprise him if it became a game for specialists.

“However, many players in my experience have started off in one-day cricket and have had such success that they have graduated to Test cricket.

“When one-day cricket was just beginning, there was a school of thought that Test players would not necessarily make good one-day players and this is still the case in many instances. But there are exceptions and I expect the same will apply to Twenty20 cricket.”

The appeal of Twenty20 cricket, he said, was that it opened the game up and one mistake could completely level the playing field.

“It all happens so quickly any team could suddenly find itself with the advantage. If you make just one mistake, it is very hard to get back into the game.”

That said, if his side did what they had done to get to the final of the World Cup in the West Indies a few months ago, they would do well.

“If we play to our strengths and work hard, there is no reason why we should not succeed in a game which is largely a new one to us,” said Jayawardene.

Business Day, Johannesburg