Trinity failed to deliver when it was needed most
View(s):Did Trinity blunder big time on two occasions and enabled the under pressure Antonians to snatch a one run win on the first innings?
Bowl the opposition out cheaply, get a substantial lead and exert pressure to roll them over.
188 wasn’t a big total but when you consider that 50 of those runs came courtesy of extras, something was surely amiss. The regular wicketkeeper did not play and the replacement allowed 28 byes, much to the exasperation of the skipper and the bowlers.
The Trinitians were certainly coasting at 126-3. But with the departure of the exciting Chandragupta, they lost five wickets for a mere thirteen runs. The situation cried for Lakshan Jayasinghe’s arrival at the crease. A Sri Lanka under 19 World Cup player, Jayasinghe had shown many times in the past that he can play a straight bat and put some runs on the board. But to the amazement of many people, he was sent in at number 11. His four run contribution was too little, too late.
Raven Sayer, who played with a lot of common sense and gumption, would certainly have liked to bat with Jayasinghe rather than with Kumara and Sudaraka who threw their wickets away in the space of a few balls.
When Trinity took the field again, one expected them to be fired up and to strain every muscle and sinew to get rid of a slightly below par batting line-up. What happened was different. They didn’t attack enough and gave the impression that they were waiting for the Antonian wickets to fall into their laps.
Jayasinghe’s bowling was disappointing. He was flat, didn’t try to nudge the batsman from the crease, to entice them to have a go. The fact that he picked up a mere two wickets in the match is testimony to that.
The first few overs of the Antonian second innings were marred by the ‘argy bargy’ between the wicket keeper and the openers. One felt that the keeper was out of order. It was also amusing to see a fielder showing a batsman the way to the Pavilion.
To see as many as four substitutes run to the centre with bottles of water and gloves was unedifying. The game was a bit slow paced and consequently suffered as a spectacle.
For the Antonians, the draw was as good as a win. Much was expected of the Trinity team but they failed to deliver when it was most needed. – AK