A win long overdue

BY : Sa'adi Thawfeeq.
There is nothing that warms the cockles of one's heart than to see the masters of the game of cricket being put to the sword. Sri Lanka's 1-0 (2 drawn) win over England in the recently concluded Test series was sweet revenge for their defeats in the two previous series against England played at home and away.

It also broke a 17-month drought for Sri Lanka without a Test win. The last win was also achieved at the SSC against Bangladesh by 288 runs in July 2002. Since then Sri Lanka went through eight Tests (3 defeats, 5 draws) without a win before ending the unlucky streak.

Under a new (Australian) management (coach, trainer and physio), Sri Lanka undoubtedly was the superior side in the contest although the margin of victory does not reflect it. They came near to winning at Galle and at Kandy and they were finally able to nail England at the SSC.

Had the captain Hashan Tillakaratne been a bit more enterprising in his leadership and prepared to gamble, the series result could easily have been 3-0. But Tillakaratne throughout his cricket career is not known for being innovative. His approach to batting clearly testifies that. The two past captains before him Arjuna Ranatunga and Sanath Jayasuriya are both match winners with the bat whereas Tillakaratne can be called upon to save a match, not win it.

The victory at the SSC was his first as captain in eight Tests and may have come as a relief for him. The win not only complicates matters for the selection committee, but also keeps the heir apparent to the captaincy Marvan Atapattu waiting longer than anticipated.

It is left to the selectors to decide whether they should persist with Tillakaratne as captain or hand it over to Atapattu. As the saying goes, one swallow does not make a summer. Thus, one win does not make a good captain.

After Sri Lanka had piled up their second highest total in Test cricket (628-8d) and gained a mammoth lead of 363, there was only one team that could have won the Test. It did not require imaginative captaincy to win a Test from that point onwards.

We are not trying to belittle Tillakaratne from what he has achieved for his country, but if Sri Lanka cricket is to look ahead, hard decisions must be taken. Individual achievements however good they are cannot come into play. Atapattu is presently the vice-captain to Tillakaratne in Tests and unless he is elevated there is little chance of grooming another player to the post.

Living upto reputation

For sometime Mahela Jayawardene has failed to live up to his reputation as the central figure around which the Sri Lankan batting will be built around. He fulfilled that objective by making the most runs from either side - 334 and averaging 83.50 with one century and two scores of fifty. What is required from Jayawardene is similar displays in the future. In the coming year Sri Lanka is slotted to play 10 Tests (6 at home and 4 away) against Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, and if Jayawardene can maintain the same form he showed in the series against England, Sri Lanka will have less batting worries.

With Jayawardene becoming the central figure, others like Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera, Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara chipped in with useful contributions to give the Sri Lankan bowlers totals which they could attack the opposition.

Dilshan's batting was a revelation. When the other top order Sri Lankan batsmen were being circumspect against the rather weak England bowling attack, he took it by the scruff of its neck to score a brilliant century at Kandy. The manner in which he attacked the spinners and the fast bowlers with dancing feet put the other experienced batsmen to shame. The effect of Dilshan's batting was felt at the SSC, where the rest of the batsmen started to play positively and Sri Lanka ended up by scoring their second highest total in Test cricket 628-8 dec.

Dilshan made a sensational entry to Test cricket with a big hundred in only his second Test against Zimbabwe four years ago, but after that he failed to maintain the consistency and was discarded. Now that he has made a comeback to the national Test side after a lapse of two years, with one century and two scores of over fifty in three innings, Dilshan should show commitment and try to cement his place in the side.

Samaraweera could be classified as one of the luckiest cricketers going. If he was dropped umpteen times it is not his fault. His record at the SSC is remarkable. In six Tests there he has made 513 runs at an astonishing average of 171.00 with three centuries and two fifties.

This is in comparison to his overall Test figures of 806 runs (avg. 67.16) from 14 Tests. Limited in stroke play, Samaraweera nevertheless possesses remarkable powers of concentration to battle it out in the middle. The time he spent in the middle during the series (a total of 733 minutes) was bettered by only Jayawardene (1035 minutes).

Batting form a worry

Jayasuriya, Atapattu and Tillakaratne fell far short of what they are capable of delivering. With the amount of experience they have behind them, much was expected of them, but apart from a distant half-century from Jayasuriya, who should have easily converted it into a century, Atapattu and Tillakaratne were rather disappointing contributing a miserly 161 runs in nine innings between them in the series.

This is the second time in a Test series that Tillakaratne has failed. In the Caribbean he averaged 11 for 33 runs and here 15.6 for 78 runs. His continuous loss of form is a worry. It is not customary for Tillakaratne to be out of form for more than one series. Sri Lanka requires his experience to bolster its sometimes-unpredictable middle-order.

It was pleasing to note that bowlers Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan also making some useful contributions with the bat. Muralitharan finished with his highest batting average in a Test series with 30.33 for the 91 runs he scored in four innings. Vaas, who has the batting talent to become a leading all-rounder, scored 102 runs (avg. 25.50). There contributions with the bat along with other tailenders bolstered the Sri Lankan batting in the first two Tests when the top order failed to deliver.

These two finished as the leading bowlers for Sri Lanka, not for the first time.

Muralitharan's 26 wickets in the series that was the turning factor in the series, moved him closer to Australian Shane Warne and West Indian Courtney Walsh, the two bowlers he needs to pass to become the all-time world record holder for the number of Test wickets. The more wickets that Muralitharan takes, the more suspicion he arouses with his controversial bowling action. Now it is his new ball that goes the other way (a leg-spinner to a left-hander) with which he managed to confound left-handers that is the talking point in international cricket circles.

Vaas picked up half the number of wickets than Muralitharan. But his ability to provide important breakthroughs when Muralitharan was tiring was as significant as the spinner taking five wickets.The future of Upul Chandana as a Test player will be limited unless he starts to take wickets with his leg-spin. That Chandana can contribute useful runs with the bat there is no doubt, but what is required mostly from him is wickets. He bowled well but was not lucky to be amongst the wickets.

The encouraging factors for Sri Lanka in the series apart from Dilshan's return was fast bowler Dilhara Fernando from injury. Fernando who is easily the fastest bowler in the country today, averaging over 85 mph at times, showed that when he is on song, he could dangerous as anybody. His bowling particular in the England second innings at the SSC was similar to the Fernando we have come to know of. If he can stay free of any serious injury, Fernando could become the spearhead of the Sri Lankan bowling attack once Vaas decides to quit.

Similar tactics fail

As they had done on their previous tour to Sri Lanka three years ago, England adopted the same tactics like trying to wear the bowlers out, Muralitharan in particular. But on this occasion Sri Lanka were very much prepared for them. England won the previous Test series capitalizing on the mistakes Sri Lanka made.

On the recently concluded tour, England was not the same side that Nasser Hussain brought out here in 2000-01. They were clearly short of experience in the bowling department with Darren Gough, Andrew Caddick and Craig White all missing. The three contributed 27 of the 43 wickets that fell during the series to bowlers. In their absence the onus fell heavily on left-arm spinner Ashley Giles who was asked to shoulder the bowling. He obliged with 18 wickets, but lacked support from the other end.

The series clearly proved how inadequate England's batsmen are against top class spin. County cricket doesn't encourage spin bowling but lays more emphasis on seam. The Oval is an exception because Pakistani spinner Saqlain Mushtaq plays for Surrey.

Not many other counties prepare pitches to suit spin and when they tour the subcontinent, England find that they are extremely short of bowlers who excel in such conditions.

England tried out a new off-spinner Gareth Batty but each of his six wickets came at a cost of 66 runs apiece. Robert Croft, a success on the last tour was not even considered for the series with Batty winning favour over him.

England was unable to forge any century partnerships during the series and that contributed largely towards their lack of success in the series. Twice they escaped with draws in the first two Tests before being finally cornered at the SSC where they failed to make use of winning the toss for the first time in six attempts against Sri Lanka.

The previous series with one home country umpire officiating along with one from the ICC caused enough of acrimony between the two sides. On this occasion the relationship between the two countries was not as bad as it was before, but the umpires both from the ICC's elite panel were found wanting.

The over reliance on television technology by television commentators is bringing immense pressure on the umpires. Unless umpires are also given the benefit of viewing appeals several times over (like TV commentators) before making a decision, they will continue to be in the limelight for the wrong reasons.

- Source : Copyright © 2003 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.

Sunday, December 28, 2003.
source : © UAEcricket.com.