Lankans aim to play serious cricket in Bangladesh

Sports

By Harry Jayachandra

A pensive Sri Lankan skipper returning from Zimbabwe. Pic by W.Weerawardena

“We are approaching this series very seriously. Bangladesh has come a long way especially in the last six months. In addition we do not have any international cricket for about four to five months after this series, thus it takes on even more significance and obviously we will be going all out to win both the test and tri nation series,” said Sri Lanka’s Captain Mahela Jayawardena

Sri Lanka’s national cricket team will leave for Bangladesh for a test and tri nation series on December 19 after the one day series in Zimbabwe which saw the Lankan team literally taken to the edge by an enthusiastic home side. Ironically Sri Lanka will face Zimbabwe in the tri nation series and also face a Bangladesh team who are no longer Lambs to the slaughter.

On the contrary despite a mass exodus of players to the Indian Cricket League Bangladesh has improved considerably. Thus how will Sri Lanka approach this series especially after a relatively poor batting and bowling display against Zimbabwe? The Sunday Times caught up with Jayawardena to get his views. “You cannot judge the batting based on one series. I agree the batting was a bit disappointing. The wickets we played on in Zimbabwe were under prepared. People need to understand that every time we go out we cannot post a 300 plus score. Having said that I do believe that we fell about 30 to 40 runs short in each game” said Jayawardena.

One particular area of concern for Sri Lanka was the inability of the openers to give the team a solid start and with the World Cup just over two years is Sri Lanka depending on the ageing Sanath Jayasuriya to deliver once again; “One slot is taken care with Upul Tharanga coming back into form. This is a big plus point for us as he has a lot of experience. As for Sanath only he will know and time will tell whether he will be available for the World Cup. As you know we tried Mahela Udawatte on the Zimbabwe tour and the opening slot is not much of a problem as Kumar Sangakkara has also opened and we have about three to four other guys who can come in,” added Jayawardena

Another area of concern for the Lankans was the late middle order failing to fire with the absence of Tillekeratne Dilshan. Said Jayawardena; “With regard to the batting overall let me say that yes ideally we would like to see the openers get us off to a flying start so that the middle order can capitalize. Dilshan was dropped because he was out of form for a considerable period of time. But he has scored in the domestic scene and if he plays well in the test there is no reason why he cannot command a place in the one day team. Also we are quite happy with the late middle order. Jehan Mubarak for instance took us through to victory in one of the games and he knows the role he has to play in the team. What we are concerned about and have discussed at length is the fact that only one batsman is scoring. When we play a six-five combination, at least four of the batsmen have to play well for us to post a competitive score. Like I said before every time we go out we cannot post a 300 plus score but we do need to post a competitive total. And this is what the team as a whole has worked on. Also it would be unfair to judge the performance of players based on one tour. The wickets we encountered in Zimbabwe were vastly different to what we played on four years ago. We are going in with an open mind to Bangladesh, obviously the challenge for us collectively is to adjust to the different conditions and play to the best of our ability. If we can execute that plan I do not see any reason why we cannot emerge victorious.

On the Zimbabwe tour, the opening bowlers also let the team down in the absence of veteran Chaminda Vaas. When asked, Jayawardena said; “Except for the first two games when there was some moisture, the pitches were very spinner friendly. Keep in mind that in one of the games we bowled out Zimbabwe for just 76 with the quick’s taking the majority of the wickets. Farveez Maharoof did take some stick but prior to his injury he was one of the best bowlers in Asia and he just more game time to start performing at his best. Dilhara Fernando is also coming back to form which is another plus factor for us and as for Dhammika Prasad you cannot judge him based on just one game. He is a good prospect and needs more matches. Unfortunately there are four or five guys ahead of him in the pecking order. I do agree that the quick’s have to perform especially if we have to shift to a seven-four combination. As you know we do have two quality spinners, but if we play seven batsmen depending on the conditions then there will only room for one spinner.

With regard to Vaas, Jayawardena said in conclusion; “From what I understand the door has not been closed on him. The selectors have spoken to him and he has said he will fight for his place which is very good news because no one can deny the fact that he is a major asset. Overall what I believe is that we have a very good team and can defeat any side if we play to our potential.”

E-mail

views[1]