After a rather unconvincing performance against Pakistan at home, Sri Lanka embark on a tough tour to England that might well decide the direction they are taking in international cricket. They were tamed to submission by Pakistan and struggled gradually as the tour progressed. Having played the top teams in a brief period of 6 months, Sri Lanka's report card does not sound encouraging. Losses to India, New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh (one match) and now Pakistan in the ODIs was something Tom Moody and Co would prefer forgetting as Sri Lanka aim to undo the mistakes they did in these matches. And to be frank and blunt as a writer, Sri Lanka do not appear a Test side to me. They keep repeating the same mistakes and this has cost them dearly. Playing teams like Bangladesh regularly (2 series in a gap of 8 months) is taking Sri Lankan cricket nowhere, as performances in these matches flatters to only deceive later. In my humble opinion, I would rather see Sri Lanka play teams like Pakistan, India, England regularly than the Bangladeshis and the West Indians. This is a preview in the typically 'Deano' fashion - a SWOT analysis.
Strengths
There are obvious signs of improvements in this Sri Lankan team, but unfortunately they are not long-lasting. I would tend to think that apart from being mighty in the spin department, their batting seems to be a certain strength. Kumar Sangakkara's progress indicates an obvious growth in stature as their best batsman, followed by Mahela Jayawardena and Tillekaratne Dilshan. If they can score massive runs against the bowling attack that England boasts of, they are sure to create positions of strength. The squad seems stacked with batsmen, who are inexperienced and if guys like Tharanga and Vandort can realize their potential, the void created by the retirement of Jayasuriya will somehow be unseen. The relatively inexperienced bowling seems to be maturing with every other outing and if they can capitalize on the conditions they are presented with, bowlers like Vaas, Maharoof, Malinga, Kulasekara, Zoysa and Fernando could prove a handful. Utilizing the conditions will be the key to their success. Besides, the spin attack of Malinga Bandara and Muttiah Muralitharan seems potent enough to create pressure situations, which the team can cash in on. Who can forget Murali spinning the Oval one-off Test of 1998 on its head with a match haul of 16 wickets. So, if they can start the series well, there is no doubt that there is some quality in this Sri Lankan line-up, good enough to disturb the England team.
Weaknesses
Weaknesses are in plenty to be honest. The inexperience might just as prove to be a weakness as it is a strength. The openers' spot seems a major concern for me. Tharanga and Vandort might not be technically adaptive to the conditions in England. Kumar Sangakkara might have to play saviour time and again by coming in situations that might probably be avoidable. The openers will be under pressure to bat well everytime they go out to bat and if they succeed in evading this pressure, they would have done their bit to the team's cause. The role of Tillekaratne Dilshan is a question mark. He has a decent technique to go along with his wide range of strokes and if Sri Lanka can push him up in the order, it will do good to their totals. But, from his side, he has to curb his natural instincts of playing one shots too many and put a tag on his wicket, which has been a continual problem with him. The bowling line-up somehow comes up with a tag of 'inexperienced'. Apart from Vaas and Zoysa, the bowlers look naive. There is a uni-dimensional look to this bowling attack. The sameness should ideally be masked by picking a bowling line-up that consists of Vaas (angle), Maharoof (accuracy), Malinga (action and pace), Malinga Bandara (leg-spin) and Murali (off-spin). All in all, there are plenty of loopholes in this Sri Lankan squad, the earlier they are plugged, the better would be the chances of tasting successes in England.
Opportunities
There are plenty of things the Sri Lankans can learn from this tour. Having picked Prasanna Jayawardene as the second wicketkeeper, it will be important for the management to play Sangakkara purely as a batsman, due to the unavailability of Marvan Atapattu. If Sangakkara can purely concentrate on his batting, it would help both his and his team's cause as runs flowing from his bat are invaluable. Mahela Jayawardena gets a golden chance to cement his position as the skipper of the team. One hopes that he can manage to lead by example and with Atapattu's cricketing career in doldrums, cashing in on these limited opportunities would be the key. There is a great scope for improvement in this Sri Lankan team. They need to get their combination correct before every match and march on with a belief that they can be more than competitive against a strong opponent.
Threats
There are plenty of threats looming around Sri Lanka and the most important one would be their opponents. Having won the third test convincingly against India at Mumbai, England will surely be drenched in confidence and besides, the return of their regulars like Vaughan, Trescothick, Simon Jones and Stephen Harmision does not send encouraging signals to the Sri Lankan camp. Another problem that they could face would be adaptability. The earlier they get going in England, the better it could be for the Sri Lankans, which possibly means winning all their tour games and being match fit as they go into the Tests.
There was a time when the English board refused to acknowledge Sri Lanka's credentials as a Test side, and just as the Royalties had their way, the 1998 win changed their vision towards the Island nation. Since then, Sri Lanka have been playing one test extra each time they visited England (2 in 2002 and currently 3) and more importantly in quality venues like Lord's, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge. Sri Lanka can surely look to impress their case further by putting up performances that can stand out and get noticed by not only England, but the rest of the world, if they have any intentions of transforming themselves into a force to reckon with for the near future. As a fan of Sri Lankan cricket, I am sure that the boys will come up with the goods and push England to the limits if not shock them as they did in 1998.
Strengths
There are obvious signs of improvements in this Sri Lankan team, but unfortunately they are not long-lasting. I would tend to think that apart from being mighty in the spin department, their batting seems to be a certain strength. Kumar Sangakkara's progress indicates an obvious growth in stature as their best batsman, followed by Mahela Jayawardena and Tillekaratne Dilshan. If they can score massive runs against the bowling attack that England boasts of, they are sure to create positions of strength. The squad seems stacked with batsmen, who are inexperienced and if guys like Tharanga and Vandort can realize their potential, the void created by the retirement of Jayasuriya will somehow be unseen. The relatively inexperienced bowling seems to be maturing with every other outing and if they can capitalize on the conditions they are presented with, bowlers like Vaas, Maharoof, Malinga, Kulasekara, Zoysa and Fernando could prove a handful. Utilizing the conditions will be the key to their success. Besides, the spin attack of Malinga Bandara and Muttiah Muralitharan seems potent enough to create pressure situations, which the team can cash in on. Who can forget Murali spinning the Oval one-off Test of 1998 on its head with a match haul of 16 wickets. So, if they can start the series well, there is no doubt that there is some quality in this Sri Lankan line-up, good enough to disturb the England team.
Weaknesses
Weaknesses are in plenty to be honest. The inexperience might just as prove to be a weakness as it is a strength. The openers' spot seems a major concern for me. Tharanga and Vandort might not be technically adaptive to the conditions in England. Kumar Sangakkara might have to play saviour time and again by coming in situations that might probably be avoidable. The openers will be under pressure to bat well everytime they go out to bat and if they succeed in evading this pressure, they would have done their bit to the team's cause. The role of Tillekaratne Dilshan is a question mark. He has a decent technique to go along with his wide range of strokes and if Sri Lanka can push him up in the order, it will do good to their totals. But, from his side, he has to curb his natural instincts of playing one shots too many and put a tag on his wicket, which has been a continual problem with him. The bowling line-up somehow comes up with a tag of 'inexperienced'. Apart from Vaas and Zoysa, the bowlers look naive. There is a uni-dimensional look to this bowling attack. The sameness should ideally be masked by picking a bowling line-up that consists of Vaas (angle), Maharoof (accuracy), Malinga (action and pace), Malinga Bandara (leg-spin) and Murali (off-spin). All in all, there are plenty of loopholes in this Sri Lankan squad, the earlier they are plugged, the better would be the chances of tasting successes in England.
Opportunities
There are plenty of things the Sri Lankans can learn from this tour. Having picked Prasanna Jayawardene as the second wicketkeeper, it will be important for the management to play Sangakkara purely as a batsman, due to the unavailability of Marvan Atapattu. If Sangakkara can purely concentrate on his batting, it would help both his and his team's cause as runs flowing from his bat are invaluable. Mahela Jayawardena gets a golden chance to cement his position as the skipper of the team. One hopes that he can manage to lead by example and with Atapattu's cricketing career in doldrums, cashing in on these limited opportunities would be the key. There is a great scope for improvement in this Sri Lankan team. They need to get their combination correct before every match and march on with a belief that they can be more than competitive against a strong opponent.
Threats
There are plenty of threats looming around Sri Lanka and the most important one would be their opponents. Having won the third test convincingly against India at Mumbai, England will surely be drenched in confidence and besides, the return of their regulars like Vaughan, Trescothick, Simon Jones and Stephen Harmision does not send encouraging signals to the Sri Lankan camp. Another problem that they could face would be adaptability. The earlier they get going in England, the better it could be for the Sri Lankans, which possibly means winning all their tour games and being match fit as they go into the Tests.
There was a time when the English board refused to acknowledge Sri Lanka's credentials as a Test side, and just as the Royalties had their way, the 1998 win changed their vision towards the Island nation. Since then, Sri Lanka have been playing one test extra each time they visited England (2 in 2002 and currently 3) and more importantly in quality venues like Lord's, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge. Sri Lanka can surely look to impress their case further by putting up performances that can stand out and get noticed by not only England, but the rest of the world, if they have any intentions of transforming themselves into a force to reckon with for the near future. As a fan of Sri Lankan cricket, I am sure that the boys will come up with the goods and push England to the limits if not shock them as they did in 1998.
2 comments:
many teams feel a burden to play bangladesh but srilanka surely enjoys it. thats a major reason 4 their inability to rise.
Sri lanka is awful. It is the worst cricketing nation in the world.
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