Vote of confidence on curator Warnaweera:

Herath spirals in Best Test Bowler rankings

Elmo Rodrigopulle Reporting

Rangana Herath celebrates

Galle Cricket Stadium curator Jayananda Warnaweera

The mesmerizing spell of left arm leg spin bowling by Rangana Herath which helped Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 10 wickets at the Galle International Stadium on Monday, has helped him bag 828 points in the ICC Player Rankings for the Best Test bowler.

Herath had the New Zealand batsmen in a flat spin with the dream match haul figures of 11 for 108. He varied his deliveries very cleverly and teased and tormented the batsmen to their demise.

Not one NZ batsman could read him and play him with confidence. They could not read him and did not know which way the ball was turning. Herath’s was a magnificent spell of spin bowling.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene with his masterly knock of 91 has jumped to 13th place in the best batsmen’s rankings. His was real captain’s knock and his 6th wicket stand of 156 with Angelo Mathews 79 that sealed the fate of this Test.

When Jayawardene and Mathews joined forces, the best of the Lankan batting had crumbled and the score was 50 for 5 with the NZ seam bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult threatening to run riot.

Jayewardene and Mathews first studied how the wicket was playing, watched the bowlers very carefully and once they got the measure of both began to get on top and then execute their natural strokes.

Mathews who made a lovely 79 jumps to 28th position in the Best Batsman’s Ranking. Mathews deserves the promotion because he has always been consistent with the bat. As for the Test match that ended with seven sessions left was a calamity for the game. Other than for Jayawardene, Mathews and debutant Dimuth Karunaratne’s second innings unbeaten half century, the rest of the batting on both sides was poor and unacceptable at this level.

It is hoped that batsmen on both sides will get to the nets, study where they went wrong and will come up with a better batting display when the Second Test begins at the P.Sara Stadium.

The wicket according to the two captains Ross Taylor and Mahela Jayawardene was a good one for Test cricket. It was a good wicket seen after a long time. The captains admitted that it was poor batting and no blame could be laid on the wicket for the poor batting. It was a vote of confidence for curator Jayananda Warnaweera.

As for the wicket, it had something for the batsmen and bowlers. It was a decision making wicket. But what was sad was that the Test ended too early. Hope the Second Test will go the full distance.