Sri Lanka and England exude confidence:

Batting first will be an advantage

Elmo Rodrigopulle reporting, Galle, Sunday

The Galle International Cricket Stadium and its surroundings looks a picture. With the prevailing drought, the ground has been watered and the playing field looks green. The wicket looks dry and indications are that it will take spin on the third day onwards. So the side winning the toss and batting first will be at a distinct advantage.Sri Lanka and England have delayed naming their playing elevens. The captains will take a look at the wicket and the conditions before naming the actors who will take the field and be in action for the days that the Test will be played.

Media briefing

At the media briefing Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardena made it known that Lahiru Thirimanne would open the batting with Tillakaratne Dilshan and that Dinesh Chandimal would bat in the middle. Thirimanne has been batting in the middle in the recent Commonwealth Bank one-day tri series in Australia and it would be interesting to see how he faces the new ball. He has opened batting previously. The Lankans have been playing a lot of one-day cricket in recent times, but Jayawardena was confident that his team would quickly adjust and be consistent in the longer version of the game. He also said that this is a great opportunity for all to come good.

Jayawardena said that his being recalled to lead the country was a challenge and that he is enjoying every moment of it. He said that they were fronting up to the number one team in the world and was confident of doing well.

The Lankans will be looking for a good opening from Dilshan and Thirimnne for the other batsmen such as Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawarden, Dinesh Chandima and Prasanna Jayawardena to build on. In the Test against England played in Cardiff which ended in disaster for Sri Lanka, Jayawardene batted confidently to make a stylish century. The team will be looking for a repeat from him.

New ball

While Chanaka Welegedera and Suranga Lakmal will handle the new ball, indications are that Rangana Herath who has been bowling with great accuracy and success and off spinner Suraj Randiv will do the spinning job.

But what will be important is that Lankans field well, especially when it comes to the catching. This aspect was found wanting in Australia.

For England their pride was dented when Pakistan thrashed them three-nil in the desert country. They will be determined to make amends and the Lankans will do well not to take them easy.

Both captains welcomed the use of the Umpires Decision Review System and said that they were happy to play to that system. They also said that they will play the game in the best of spirits and keep the game clean.

However England is under a cloud. At the time of writing allegations have been made that they had indulged in ball tampering during the three-day game at the SSC and that the match referee had made a report. At the media briefing there were queries about the pricing of the tickets and that the vociferous England cheer squad known as the ‘Barmy Army’ intends boycotting the Test match. However Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary and Vice President Nishantha Ranatunga and K.Mathivanan were present to explain and answer the queries about the high pricing of the tickets.