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Batting worries behind Test wins
Sunday, 31 July 2005 - 5:03 AM SL Time
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First it was lack of match practice, then rustiness and finally a difficult track. These were the excuses given for the failure of the Sri Lanka`s top order batsmen against the West Indies during the recently concluded two match Test series. The final outcome was in favour of Sri Lanka ' Sri Lanka won the first match staged at the SSC by six wickets and the second played at Asgiriya by 240 runs. Yet, the struggle of the homsters to achieve those wins should not go unnoticed.
Of course there is no crown without thorns and gain without pain. Test matches mean a test of character. But given the opposition that lacked a number of established players including the batting maestro Brain Lara, cricket fans expected Sri Lanka to have a cakewalk ' to thrash Windies novices by innings. The West Indies possessed just one world class or established batsman in their captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul (88 matches, 6069 runs). The majority of the team was rookies who did not have enough Test match experience. For a team with a number of hither to unknown teenagers wielding bats yet to be adorned with sponsors labels Sri Lanka series should have been a nightmare.
The hastily arranged squad (due to seniors` pull out following a sponsorship squabble) had to face the world class bowlers like Murali and Vaas. If they had a ray of hope in facing the `smiling assassin` on turning tracks it was the fact that the ace spinner was returning to the big league after a major injury that kept him away from the action for 11 months. Nevertheless, the premier bowler was sure to pose a huge threat to the newcomers (he has troubled almost all the batsmen in the world ' Lara can be an exception) as he had all the tricks under his sleeves including a triumph card ' the doosra. Living up to the expectations the Windies faltered against Vaas` swing and Murali`s turn. (They managed 285, 113 at the SSC and 148, 137 at Asgiriya). Yet with these relatively small Test match scores, the West Indians put up a fight and denied Sri Lanka from registering thumping victories. At times they even had the Lankans in dire straits. The only reason for their momentary triumph and Sri Lanka`s smaller victory margins was the failure of local batters. (Sri Lanka scored 227- trailed Windies by 58 runs, 175/4 after being 3 for 49 chasing a victory target of 171 at SSC and 150, 375 for 7 declared at Asgiriya).
Sri Lankans managed just a century (Kumar Sangakkara 157 n.o. at Asgiriya) and a half century (Tilan Samaraweera 51 at SSC) for the entire series.
The Lankan top order batters on more than one occasion displayed poor Test match cricket and got out due to poor shot selection. They failed to give a good account of themselves. In fact in the first innings of the first Test their bowlers ' Vaas 49, Murali 36- had to deliver with the bat to drag them back to the match.
Sri Lankans came to a Test after a rest period of nearly three months. Although the rest periods in between series are vital for players to recuperate, Lankans displayed that they are clearly out of touch. The West Indies possessed a decent bowling attack in Lawson, Best and Powell. They clearly lacked a good spinner. Had they had three more good batsmen and a good spinner, Sri Lankans would have found the final outcome different.
In Kandy there was a problem with the pitch. It definitely was a landmine track to bat on. But that should not be an excuse for team`s poor show (in the first innings) with the bat as Sri Lanka did posses experienced hands- Jayasuriya (97 matches), Atapattu (82), Sangakkara (47), Jayawardene (68), Samaraweera (27) and Dilshan (24)- to pull them out. That vital experience factor did not come to the frame as a number of them perished due to poor shots 'outside the off stump- and lack of application. The batters should be able to read the situation and bat accordingly. Sri Lankans did not show that. On the other hand the curator at Asgiriya did no good to the stadium by dishing out an awful pitch for a Test. An article appeared in `The Island` during the Test depicted the pathetic condition of the stadium. It`s a pity that once charming venue has gone to the dogs. Sri Lanka has made it a point to boast about the stadium saying that it is the only Test venue in the world that is owned by a school (Trinity College). But one feels it is about time that cricket administrators did something to protect the beautiful Test venue located in salubrious hill country as inter-school rugby matches etc. staged there may have adversely affected the pitch.
Sri Lanka top batsmen`s scores in the series run as follows- Atapattu (1, 28, 17, 36), Jayasuriya (3, 15, 2, 19), Sangakkara (34, 0, 6, 157*), Jayawardene (3, 41*, 6, 43), Samaraweera (11, 51, 37, 0) Dilshan (32, 30*, 36, 49). Sri Lanka`s new coach Tom Moody has said it was too early to assess the performances of batsmen given the condition of the wicket. But one feels it is imperative that he, as outlined at the outset, should begin to take note of the up and coming youngsters. Otherwise Sri Lanka`s goals of winning the world cup in 2007 and toppling Australia from the top rung of the Test table will turn out to be mere pipedreams.
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