Odds against Sri Lanka in South Africa
Colin Bryden
The odds appear stacked against the Sri Lankan cricket team on their
tour of South Africa, which starts Friday with a three-day match against
a South African Invitation XI in Benoni.
The tourists will play three Tests and five one-day internationals,
hoping to break a losing streak in both forms of the game.
Sri Lanka have not won a Test match since defeating India in master
spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan's last Test in Galle in July 2010.
Since then they have played 14 matches, losing four and drawing 10.
Recent series
They have lost their three most recent series, against England,
Australia and Pakistan, each by a 1-0 margin. Their record in one-day
internationals is similarly unimpressive since they reached the World
Cup final against India in Mumbai last April in what was Muralitharan's
last international appearance.
They have lost successive series against England, Australia and
Pakistan.
South Africa has not been a happy venue for Sri Lankan teams,
although it will be their first tour of the country since the 2002/03
season.
In seven Tests, South Africa have won six with one drawn. The hosts
also hold a 12-5 edge in ODIs between the countries in South Africa -
although in their most recent meeting Sri Lanka gained a convincing win
in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy.
Selectors
Former South African captain Kepler Wessels has dismissed Sri Lanka's
chances, saying the home selectors should use the Test series to
introduce new players because of bigger challenges ahead, including away
series against England and Australia next year.
Wessels said a second-string South African team would be able to beat
the Lankans.
His comments drew a predictable response from star Sri Lankan batsman
Mahela Jayawardene, who said his team welcomed being labelled underdogs.
"The statement is great ammunition for us to motivate ourselves and
send a clear message to the players that this is how they are thinking
about us so let's try to change their mind," he said.
Firepower
Sri Lanka appear desperately short of bowling firepower, particularly
for the Test series, with Muralitharan having retired and Lasith Malinga
available only for one-day games.
To compound the tourists' problems, they have been hit by injuries to
fast bowlers Suranga Lakmal, Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Kulasekara and
Dhammika Prasad.
When Lakmal became the latest to withdraw from the tour, chairman of
selectors Duleep Mendis said no replacement would be named in the hope
that one of the other injured players would recover in time to join the
squad.
On the plus side, Sri Lanka have a potentially strong batting line-up
with Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, in particular, having a good
record against South Africa.
Firepower
Jayawardene has hit five Test centuries against the Proteas,
including an innings of 374 in Colombo in 2006 when he and Sangakkara
put on a world record 624 for the third wicket.
Sangakkara has made two hundreds against South Africa, turning both
into double centuries.
Jayawardene and Sangakkara were on their country's two previous Test
tours of South Africa in 2000/01 and 2002/03. Captain Tillakaratne
Dilshan and fast bowler Dilhara Fernando have also had Test experience
in South Africa.
Centuries
The Sri Lankans arrived at a troubled time for cricket in their
country against a background of reports that the board, in debt after
building new stadia for the 2011 World Cup, had not paid its players for
the past eight months.
South African cricket has its own off-field issues, however, with the
Sri Lankans arriving on the same day as Cricket South Africa chief
executive Gerald Majola was being grilled at a judicial inquiry into the
organisation's financial affairs, which include the payment of
multimillion-rand bonuses to Majola.
Test squads
South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), AB de Villiers (vice-capt),
Jacques Rudolph, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Mark
Boucher (wkt), Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir,
Alviro Petersen, Marchant de Lange
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt),
Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh
Chandimal, Kaushal Silva (wkt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dimuth Karunaratne,
Chanaka Welegedara, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Pradeep, Thisara Perera,
Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath, Thilan Samaraweera
AFP
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