Pakistani series has all the promise save weather

If the rain gods look benignly on the game and relent, then a cracker of a T20, 50 over and Three Test series could be witnessed.

One hopes that the Pakistani and Sri Lankan cricketers will not be singing that famous ditty.... Rain, rain go away.… now that the South West Monsoon has set in and is likely to spoil the cricket.

After a terrible heat wave thankfully the rains have set in. But while all Sri Lanka will welcome it, the cricketers, the sponsors and TV telecasters will be at odds if the rains play the role of spoil sport. Although the tour is insured its the game that counts.

Mahela leadership

As for Sri Lanka they will be wanting to avenge the thrashing that they received in the desert from the Pakistanis and will be looking to play better and positive cricket and come out victors.

Under the superb leadership of Mahela Jayawardena, the cricketers have raised their game to a new platform as their excellent showing against the world champions England showed early this year. Holding the Brits to a one-all Test series was great.

Great leadership

Jayawardena is a skipper who could get his team to play to the best of their ability. His leadership shows optimism,confidence and has faith in his team mates who rally round him. He leads by example. His effervescent style of leadership has gone to rub off on his team mates who are out and determined to play their best and yield rewards to the skipper, the game and the country.

Jayawardena had a dream series as captain against England with the bat scoring two centuries. During his long stay at wicket he was able to instruct the other batsmen as to how to counter the bowling and build an innings. That’s what a skipper is all about. But sadly in Indian Premier League Twenty 20, which is a different ball game his batting form deserted him as it did Tillakeratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s three leading batsmen.

True touch

But it is hoped that they will find their true touch with the bat and get back into their now famous run making acts and put the Pakistani bowlers on a leather hunt. As for the Sri Lankan bowlers who were on show at the IPL, it was only Lasith Malinga who made an impression with his slinging deliveries. He will be available for the shorter versions of the games, but will be out of the established game which is what the game is all about.

But opting to play in the shorter versions of the game, me thinks that Malinga decided right. In a Test match he will be called upon to bend his back and trundle 20 to 30 overs, probably in an innings.

Prone to injury

That work load will be too much and telling on his back which is prone to injury and if he continue to bowl his career could be cut short. He is the goose that lays the golden egg in the shorter versions of the game and helps Sri Lanka.

Then let him remain and play the game that he has rightly decided to play. Let all the comments made against his decision stop and let him be free to show his prowess in the shorter form of the game.

The Sri Lanka Cricket selectors headed by former fast bowling all rounder Asantha de Mel have picked two squads to face Pakistan in the Twenty20 and the ODIs.

The squad have been picked on form and included are the best available. It is interesting to note the recalling of fast bowler Dilhara Fernando. Fernando is easily the fastest bowler going in the local scene today.

Strongly built

Tall and strongly built Fernando is an asset if he is fully fit. With a nicely balanced run up and a lovely action, he is able to get the ball to rise disconcertingly off a good length.

In addition he packs a well disguised slow ball and has the ability to bowl a well directed bouncer that most batsmen fear to face. He moves the new ball both ways which is all well and good. But his greatest enemy has been his inability to run away from injuries. There has never been a series or a tour where he not been struck down by some niggle or injury.

Fernando has been the ‘Always breakdown’ in Sri Lanka cricket. Sad because he has tremendous pace and one who can be coupled with the best fastmen going in international cricket today.

Longer version

Fernando has been included in the 50 over squad. But he will be more important in the longer version of the game. Depending on his fitness and form in the limited overs game, he will be an automatic choice in the Test squad.

With the rains setting in, it will also make wicket making difficult. The curators will be up against it and will not be able to produce good wickets for cricket to be played.

However the curators are experienced and have tremendous expertise and will do their utmost to produce wickets on which good and exciting cricket could be played. It is an unwritten law that home curators make wickets to suit their players. In the past we had spin friendly wickets because we had Muttiah Muralitheran who feasted on them. But with no Muralitheran and with the Pakistanis carrying the better spinners in world class off spinner with many varieties and variations Saeed Ajmal in their ranks, the local curators will be stranded wondering as to what type of wickets to prepare. That is their baby.

‘Big mouth’ Botham silenced

At the time of writing Marlon Samuels 107 and Captain Darren Sammy 88, both unbeaten have added to help West Indies recover from 154 for 6 and finish on 306 for 6 on day one.

When Samuels was on one, umpire Asad Rauff ruled him out LBW to Tim Bresnan. Samuels referred and earned a reprieve from the third umpire because the ball was going well over the stumps. But former England all rounder and Captain Ian Botham while the referral was being studied by the third umpire, kept saying – ‘that looks out to me, that looks out to me’.

But once the replays were shown it was obvious that there was no way that Samuels could be ruled out LBW. So it was a lesson, not only for Botham, but to other TV commentators to hold their peace till the verdict is made by the third umpire. Little wonder then that the Brit commentators have been tagged as the most biased in world cricket.

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