Lankans set to knock out Brits

Elmo FERNANDOPULLE reporting from England

Sri Lanka, now that they have the Brits groggy and on the ropes, must deliver the knockout punch and bury them in the dust at Trent Bridge, like they buried us in the dust at the SwAlec Stadium in Cardiff to win the Test series.

The Sri Lankans, after their good win at Lord’s are ahead in the NatWest five match one-day series 2-1, and unlike Russian Heavyweight Vladimir Klitschko who had pity on Briton David Haye and beat him on points, the Lankan cricketers must from the first ball go for the knockout and make them kiss the canvass, that will this time be the Trent Bridge pitch.

The Sri Lankans who lost the Test series one-nil, must compensate by winning this game which is a day-nighter and making sure of the series 3-1 and taking home the NatWest Trophy.

Memorable occasion

If the cricketers can do this, and there is no reason why they should not, it will be a memorable occasion for Tillekeratne Dilshan who is out as skipper for the first time. He has led the team admirably so far and it will be the icing on the cake to win this one.

The Lankans proved that they have it in them to bat first or bat second and win. But it is best to bat first and put the Brits, who seem to be like little boys lost when under pressure. The best thing that has happened to the Lankans is the return to form of Mahela Jayawardena who is batting at his brilliant best at the moment.

This game requires that runs be made playing the ungainly looking shots.

Strokes from the book

But Jayawardena has shown that it need not be so by accumulating runs, playing strokes from the book. His shots on the V, the cover drives, the cuts, the hooks and the leg glances are star class and has earned the encomiums and accolades from the greats here.

His century at Headingley in the second and the 79 at Lord’s in the third one-dayer were chiefly instrumental in paving the way for Sri Lanka to win. it is hoped that he will add momentum to this run feast at Trent Bridge that he is now enjoying.

One drop Dinesh Chandimal was a revelation. The 21 year old right hander came in when Dilshan left early and what an innings he played in getting to his hundred.

He showed great maturity for one so young and has a great future.

Correct temperament

He has the correct temperament, the technique and the strokes and with a bit more guidance should make waves. Former England cricketers were amazed with his play and predicted a bright future for him. As for the bowlers, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Kulasekera, Jeevan Mendis and Suraj Randiv, they bowled with great accuracy and discipline and did not allow the Brit batsmen to cut loose.

Leg spinner Mendis bowled a superb 10 over spell at a stretch. His leg breaks and googlies had the batsmen in trouble.

His prized wickets were that of Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan.

Both were threatening to launch an assault, when he showed them back to the pavilion. The Sri Lanka fielding too, other than for a dropped catch was tops.

England no match

As for England they are no match to the Sri Lankans. True that Captain Cook made a hundred, his second in his career and first as captain, but the runs did not come at the pace required in this style of game.

The laugh in the Brits teams is the inclusion of Jonathon Trott. As one drop he is a misfit. He lacks the temperament and the strokes for his game. He is utterly stroke less and it is inexplicable why the Brit selectors keep persisting with him.

The Brits bowling and fielding are poor. James Anderson, Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad can’t bowl wicket to wicket that are essentials.

Broad in his frustration throughout Tests and the one-dayers used offensive language on umpire Billy Bowden in the second one-dayer and was docked 50 per cent of his match fee.

Only credential

The only credential he has to be playing for England and captaining the Twenty20 team is that he is the son of former England opening batsman Chris Broad. His selection has come in for much criticism here.

This day-nighter begins at 2 p.m. British time which is 6.30 p.m Sri Lanka time and here’s hoping that when the Lankans wake up on Thursday morning they will be greeted with the news that the Lankans have won the one-day series.

The weather here is fine at the time of writing and the Trent Bride wicket looks good for run making. England are likely to make changes, while Sri Lanka will stick to the winning combination.

Trent Bridge, Nottingham Tuesday