Playing against England :

Chance for Sri Lanka to re-establish ourselves

By Gunasiri Wanigaratne

CRICKET: As another home series dawns upon Sri Lanka, a MUST win preferably a 2-0 whitewash against England, to re-establish ourselves in the Test arena, the true format of the great game of cricket. Our team coming out into the fray is a psychological framework of a one-day 50-over set up without much plaudits to clamour home about, the adjustment of the psychological persona especially our batsmen will be paramount and the poise and patience with devout discipline will be a major influence towards achieving success.

The dismal display of batting by our Board XI to counteract the English swing bowlers let alone the spinners, doesn’t stand in goodstead for our Test batting line-up. Further to our disbelief this is aided and abetted by Sri Lankan pitches, not to mention facing the English pace attack on a cloudy, overcast early summer morning in England.

After all one doesn’t expect another Cardiff calamity from our batting order, the lessons learnt should be put to practice. The batsmen must portray precision and authority knowing which ball to leave rather than inviting the English slip cordon into play, a task our top order batsmen must develop while technically adopting to play the swing as early as possible like the great players did.

Bitter pill for English batsmen

The performance of English batsmen in the desert series against Pakistan on slow bouncing pitches, similar to Sri Lanka allowed Decision Review System (DRS) to announce itself on World Cricket with a huge rise in LBW decisions. A bitter pill to swallow for English batsmen but a sweet lesson to be caught by Sri Lankan bowlers, where wicket to wicket bowling will reap bountiful of wickets with varying line and tight length.

While the batsmen are learning how to play especially spin without getting hit on the pad and in the midst of this process, the technology how to play etc is here to stay and the batsmen will have to get accustomed to live with it.

DRS in its new innovation provided an absolute illustration of how the game has changed and one wonders how many more wickets, the likes of Underwood and Warne’s would have got.

In effect the DRS has improved the game even though it appears Indian Cricket Board is somewhat naïve not to acknowledge and accept the part technology has to play and already accepted in Rugby and Tennis.

Some pundits may argue it’s all so crazy for the same ball, same bowlers to provide too different decisions and ultimately agree with umpires, decision, where ball hitting the stumps by a minimum millimetre and to be adjudged LBW.

All in all players want the correct decision and I believe they are getting it, a sign for the greater good of the game.

The DRS has been instrumental in creating confusion among batsmen and promoting lack of confidence enhanced by an element of confusion portrayed by English batsmen in the series against Pakistan.

This is where Sri Lanka bowlers, especially spinners should capitalise, making it difficult for the English batsmen to follow the track of the ball with variations and preventing the batsmen’s follow the track of the ball with variations and preventing the batsmen’s flow of the front foot lunging forward.

Sri Lanka must make an impact with the issue of spinners presenting a many issues for English batsmen.

The influence of DRS is causing the biggest change in cricket an anathema for batsmen where the commentators described as disappointing the batting pitches in the desert, bowlers dominated the scene while the batting left lot to be desired.

With the advent of the DRS there were over 35 decisions over a three-match Test series and the record for a five-match series is 43 to date.

DRS in play, the bowlers tend to come out composed while batsmen being bemused by poor shot selection and or bad luck induced by the DRS.

The traditions previously favoured the batsmen being questioned by the DRS and on the same offence umpires, decision making those being questioned with scane respect.

Fair play prevailed

But despite the numerous reviews and a number of LBW decisions involved in the dismissals, it appears that fair play prevailed making it compulsive viewing for the spectator and more so for the television audience.

The desert series should provide food for thought for Sri Lanka Cricket and a glimpse of clips of English batsmen’s dismissals and a scholarly study of same in a ritualistic manner should provide plenty of armour for Sri Lanka bowless, where bowling a tight line and length will be supreme while using all the variations and crease effectively a MUST.

Trust Galle will provide a perfect scene for the first Test with the great Dutch Fort and ramparts raising itself over the Galle Cricket ground, praying for a perfect pitch to last of five days and being greeted by the ever energetic and ebullient Galle crowds and the visiting English tourists alike with weather gods permitting a Test match to remember.