First Test win in the Caribbean a thing to savour

It is nice to be back and in the words of that Tom Jones perennial - to touch the green, green grass of home - after a tour of the Caribbean for two Test matches and three one-day internationals.

Firstly to comment on the cricket and what must be appreciated and sung about is that Mahela Jayawardena's team became the first team to win a Test match in the Caribbean. That was great.

On two previous tours we could not achieve that milestone and that Jayawardena's team achieved that is something to crow about.

That success came due to some fine individual performances, particularly from Skipper Jayawardena, the maiden Test hundred from opener Malinda Warnapura and the wily spin of Muttiah Muralitheran.

After Warnapura's heroics - a century opening stand with Michael Vandort, Jayawardena took over with his excellent batting skills to help his team post a huge first innings score, that had the Windies back pedalling from that moment, until they were buried in the dust at the Guyana Stadium. Now that victory was something that all Sri Lanka should have celebrated.

That triumph was achieved on a wicket that was ideal for Test cricket to be played on. It had bounce, it had pace, it had spin and while it helped the bowlers it also helped the batsmen. What more do you want.

In that Test Jayawardena not only showed the way with his batting, but also led his team from the front and every member contributed lavishly to make the dream of winning a Test for the first time in the Caribbean a reality. Came the Second Test and the Windies stung to the quick by that defeat, prepared a fast wicket to suit the pacemen in Fidel Edwards, Darren Powell, Jerome Taylor and Dwaynne Bravo.

Now it is an unwritten law that wickets are prepared to suit the home team bowlers. It would not be admitted. But that is how it goes. There is no point in acting the hypocrite in this aspect.

The Sri Lankans were set to go in with the team that won the First historic Test. But when they arrived at the Queen's Park Oval, they were taken aback to see a covering of grass on the wicket, that prompted them to leave out Rangana Herath, the left arm spinner who bowled economically and troubled the batsmen to be left out and for paceman Ishara Amerasinghe to sport his first Sri Lanka cap.

The weather too was not what it should have been, with intermittent showers and with the wicket being covered there was a fair amount of moisture once the covers were removed. Skipper Jayawardena who won the all-important toss in Guyana had the mortification of seeing the coin falling the way of the West Indies Captain Chrys Gayle who had no hesitation in nodding to Jayawardena to have first go.

The Windies pacemen revelled on that wicket and with the sudden failures of the two elder batting statesmen Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara the Lankans could not post a big first innings score from where they could have dominated.

But the bowlers did their part to restrict the Windies to a meagre first innings lead. But with the top order biting the dust, it was left to Thilan Samaraweera and Chaminda

Vaas to perform the rescue act and bring the Lankans back into the picture. Samaraweera's century was a masterpiece and it could not have come at a better time. He and Vaas were tested by some vicious bouncers, but they stood up gallantly and took the fight to the home team.

Samaraweera was unfortunate to be run out after a flawless century. Vaas has now proved to be the man for a crisis. Then when the Windies were chasing victory, the early wickets were obtained. Had Tillekeratne Dilshan struck the wicket with a throw when Ramnaresh Sarwan was just four, the innings could have taken a different complexion and it certainly could have turned Sri Lanka's way.

Chasing 253 for victory is no easy task. But Sarwan rode that luck and in partnership with left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul saw the home team to a victory that enabled them to square the series.

On the fourth day all hopes were on Muralitheran to spin his magic web and send the Windies batsmen to their demise. With Sarwan and Chanderpaul using their feet to Muralitheran, the bowler lost his usual bite and with that went Lanka's chances of wrapping up a Test series for the first time in the Caribbean.

Anyway the Lankans were certainly not disgraced by that defeat. Now the oft asked question is: What is the big deal in playing Two Test matches and not at least three? What is intriguing is that while there were two Test matches the two Cricket Boards had agreed to play three one-day internationals.

While two Test won't prove a thing, the three one-dayers certainly did, although the final game was washed out by rain, with Sri Lanka in with a chance of winning the final game in St. Lucia.

By playing two Test and three one-dayers, it proves that the Cricket Boards were laying more emphasis on the cowboy game and putting the established game to second best. If that is not warped thinking, then tell me what is.

Test cricket is sacred. One day games are just - Come or go Chicago - stuff. Instead of allowing Test Cricket to slip, the International Cricket Council must come awake from their usual slumber and do things to make the established game the thing.

Money is not everything.

More tomorrow.