Dambulla wicket needs redoing

At the time of writing the Sri Lankans have won the second of Five One-dayers and on form are poised to win the Third game also slated to be played at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium and wrap the series before coming down to Colombo for the remaining two games.

While the Lankans deserve to win the two games, it is inexplicable the way the wicket at the stadium is playing. From the day it was laid, it has not played true and it has always been a struggle for batsmen to make merry.

Limited over cricket came into being because those running the game felt that the established game was becoming a bore and keeping crowds away. The ‘cowboy’ game was a spectators delight and crowds were filling the venues.

The late Australian business tycoon Kerry Packer made this style of cricket more entertaining for the spectators by introducing night cricket. Not only did he introduce night cricket but also paid the actors mind boggling sums of money. Then it requires that when this style of game is played that it be played on wickets that could help the batsmen and bowlers to provide the excitement that spectators pay ungrudgingly to come to watch and lap up the entertainment.

Dambulla wicket is slow

But sadly the wicket at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium has been a struggle for the actors. It has been so slow that batsmen cannot launch into their usual belligerent stroke play.

Bowlers too find it difficult to show their true ability. And in the end there is no much entertainment that spectators yearn for and come to see. A side batting first has to labour to get a score of over 150. They have to cut out their usual power hitting and push singles and look for that rare four or six that spectators come to see being hit.

The bowlers too can hardly get any help from it and what spectators see is a game that they would not want to see and not what they came to see. Soon the spectators might want to stay at home and take in the action on TV.

It is time that Sri Lanka Cricket took strike and saw to it that the wicket is relaid so that it would be more lively so that it will allow the cowboys to perform better and entertain the all important spectators who not only pay, but also travel to the venue ungrudgingly to lap up the action.

The Sri Lankans won the first two games without having to raise much of a sweat. They are proving to be the better team in all aspects and the Pakistanis have not been worthy opponents. Sad when one thinks of the glorious past of Pakistan cricket.

Kapugedera strikes form

In the second game it was heartening to watch Chamara Kapugedera unwinding and playing the innings that he should always be playing and not playing occasionally. He is oozing with talent and it is surprising that he has not yet believed in himself.

There is a lot of money to be earned from the game. He must take the game more seriously, because he has all the exciting strokes that could help him make big scores.When he gets going like he showed in the closing stages of the second game, he can be a spectators delight and one of the draw cards in the world scene.

On a tour of Australia, I was in the company of former Observer staffer Clifford Landers and did we not like all spectators enjoy and marvel at the ease he belted Aussie fast bowling greats Glen McGrath and Brett Lee on to the roof at the Adelaide Oval. The cowboy game needs entertainers of the calibre of Kapugedera. He must realize that.

When Lasith Malinga was being hit by the Pakistani tail-enders in the second one-dayer, where he conceded over 20 runs in one over, it was unbecoming to see skipper Kumar Sangakkara lose his cool and chide the bowler. Malinga being an ‘any where’ bowler could go awry and give away runs.

Not only Malinga it can happen to any other bowler. Being the captain, Sangakkara must learn not to lose his cool. He shows signs of being one, if not the best captain the country has produced. So it is essential that he be an example and not get carried away.