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| Sunday, 28 April 2002 |
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Looking for a formula courtesy, Darryl Foster by Srian Obeyesekere No Muralitharan, no Dilhara, it would seem the Sri Lankans need a formula like Ma's miracle team of Chinese athletes who thrive on her secret formula of herbs. And as the Lankans grope to compensate for injury sidelined Muralitharan, Sri Lanka's miracle man could come by the expertise of Darryl Foster from the Bio Mechanic Section of the Western Australia University. Foster has already joined the Sri Lankan team in England and is busy fine tuning the six pace bowlers, the Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL), Anura Tennekoon told the `Sunday Observer'. "Foster will be with the team till the third Test match fine tuning the Lankan pace bowlers. Like Barry Richards we have been contracting Foster from time to time", said Tennekoon. Foster's availability would mean the Lankans would be not short of expertise. In fact an Australian dose Sanath Jayasuriya's team would bank on to guide them in the quest of getting the better of a highly resurgent England. Foster, a reputed coach rooted to the highly successful cricket academy concept in Australia, will joins overall coach Whatmore, specialist batting coach Barry Richards (now domiciled in Australia) along with physiotherapist, Alex Kontouri, whose affect in maintaining fitness has been significant in Sri Lanka's rise in status. The tour is of much significance to the Lankans who will be playing England for the first time in a 3-Test series in England. Foster's influence could come handy in helping give weight to coach Whatmore's hopes of having a medium pace attack that could capitalise on ideally English conditions where the ball would seam in early summer. The Lankans will certainly need Foster's expertise in acclimatising to conditions which Whatmore has described as totally foreign. Much for his scientific knowledge in swinging the ball. Foster, who evaluated and cleared Muralitharan's bowling action in 1996 when the Lankan off spinner was called for chucking, will be with the team for 44 days. The six bowlers coming under his wing are Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Ruchira Perera, Charitha Buddhika Fernando, Eric Upashantha and Ishara Amarasinghe. Sri Lanka's fortunes on a 78-day long tour which will also see the former one-day world champions compete in a triangular tournament with India as the third country, could well lie very much on the pace bowling department. Despite not having the services of fiery fast bowler, Dilhara Fernando who has not quite recovered from a stress fracture to his back, the entry of newboy Ishara Amarasinghe has evoked much interest. "He is very fast", commented a Cricket Board source of the NCC pacie. This source said that what influenced Ishara's inclusion was his fine performance for the Lanka `A' team during its last tour of England. Of course, skipper Jayasuriya is banking on getting Dilhara down with the hope that the pacie could, like Muralitharan, be nursed back to fitness at least midway of the tour. On the other hand, right arm medium pacie, Charitha Buddhika Fernando's ability to swing the ball with his medium pace could be an asset in lending depth to the bowling spearheaded by left armer Chaminda Vaas. Vaas, who has graduated in the last year or so in the art of fast bowling, on whom the brunt will be in matching the English who will not be short of talent on home soil. |
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