Lankans determined to win test series
Elmo Rodrigopulle reporting, from England
The Sri Lankan cricketers on their previous tour of England under the
clever leadership of Mahela Jayawardena did extremely well to draw the
Three Test series one-all. In the one-day series that followed, the
Lankans just gobbled up the English five-nil.
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Dilhara, Nuwan doubtful
for Test
Elmo Rodrigopulle reporting, Cardiff,
Wednesday
On the eve of the First Test
against England the Sri Lankans were hit by injuries to
their two speed guns Nuwan Pradeep and Dilhara Fernando.
They seemed to have picked
up these injuries in the game against the England Lions
which game they won by 38 runs after being asked to follow
on.
Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan
Pradeep bowled with great pace and movement in that game and
were chiefly responsible for bowling out the opponents.
Nuwan Pradeep’s knee injury is more serious and will see a
doctor.
His chances of taking
further part in the tour looks bleak and it is likely that
he will be sent back home. Dilhara was also limping, but his
injury does not look that bad.
Farveez Mahroof who plays
county cricket here has been called up as replacement and
the chances of his playing are bright. |
Back in England under the promising captaincy of Tillekeratne
Dilshan, the Lankans will be determined to, for the first time to pocket
a Test series triumph over England in here and rewrite history.
In their quest for this elusive history making victory, they started
off pleasingly brushing aside Middlesex and an England Lions side. The
win against the England Lions was creditably considering that it was a
come from behind victory after having been asked to follow on.
Getting warmer
The weather here in Cardiff is a bit cold. But shows signs of getting
warm as the days go by. As usual the two teams will decide on the
playing elevens only after a look at the wicket and the conditions
before the toss.
While England will be quite at home in the conditions prevailing, the
Lankans will be hoping to have the sun on their backs when the game
begins. If the customary seam and swing bowling conditions continue,
then the Lankan batsmen will be struggling.
But if Dilshan calls correctly he should not have any hesitation in
having first go. Being a new kid on the block, Dilshan who will be
sporting the captaincy tag for the first time, will want to repeat
Jayawardena’s success or even better it.
By example
In the games against Middlesex and England Lions he led by example.
It was his aggressive approach in batting and the handling of his
bowlers intelligently that made those two victories possible. Every
member of the team seems to be liking the way he is going about doing
things which should be the recipe for success.
In both games he scored centuries and energized the team with his
aggressive approach. Being asked to follow on in the game against
England Lions was a humiliation and he hit back with a vengeance
blasting a quick hundred which stunned his opponents and paved the way
for an upset victory.
But Dilshan will have mix aggression with caution. He will be up
against a set of excellent seam and swing champions in James Anderson,
Chris Tremelett and Stuart Broad.
The trio could prove devastating in helpful conditions and Dilshan
should be more watchful.
Two centuries
As for the batting it was good to see opener Tharanga Paranavitharane
too striking the ball beautifully and notching up two centuries.
He has the ideal temperament and technique for an opener to succeed
in English conditions. He must make it a point of staying put at the
wicket.
A lot will depend on one drop Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela
Jayawardena. Sangakkara now that he has rid himself of the burden of
captaincy should be at ease to make big runs. He should forget the
failures against the England Lions and be determined to come good on the
tour.
Of all the batsmen Jayawardena has the right technique and approach
to put the England bowlers to the sword. In conditions where the ball
tends to wobble a lot, he who plays straight should be among the runs.
Jayawardena could be relied top come good on the big occasion.
Thilan Samaraweera too had two good outings and showed good touch. He
will have a big responsibility to hold the middle batting together.
Dinesh Chandimal and wicket keeper Prasanna Jayawardena must also bat
with responsibility. Whether the Lankan selectors will continue with
Chandimal or bring in Lahiru Thirimanne will be interesting to watch.
The spin slot will be taken by either Suraj Randiv or Ajantha Mendis.
Both bowl the same type off spin- Randiv uses more flight while
Mendis tends to bowl his variety of spin flatter. Randiv is the better
batsman.
As for England, they will be aiming to give continuity to their Ashes
success against Australia.
Their ambition is to be the best in world cricket, which tag has
eluded them.
To be world champions they must convincingly beat Sri Lanka and later
India.
Awesome hit squad
Skipper Andrew Strauss has been given an awesome hit squad, strong
and reliable in all aspects of the game. Straus, Alastair Cook who had a
dream run in the Ashes series, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian
Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad all have a hunger for
runs.
The bowling will be in the capable hands of James Anderson, Stuart
Broad, Tremlett or Finn with the tantalizing spin coming from the best
off spin bowler in the world today Greame Swann.
Cardiff, Wednesday
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