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| Sunday, 12 January 2003 |
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Lankan cricketers sound warning by Srian Obeyesekere With just 27 days from February's World Cup starting on the 9, the the turn of the New Year has been heightened in the build up to what is cricket's greatest extravaganza. If Australia's unwanted Steve Waugh, who has held centre stage in a frantic but futile effort to be counted by his selectors for the glamour event, underscored his credentials with an epic century in the fifth Ashes Test match against England, the battered and bruised Sri Lankans lifted themselves up with a smashing win over Australia in the ongoing VB Triangular Tournament to strike a chord. Indeed, Waugh, who swept to a typically back to the wall 111-ball ton with his side on 56 for 3 wickets in fittingly crowning himself with some sigular records, has been inextricably woven with Australia's one-day ascendancy. He was a member of both World Cup winning teams in 1987 and 1999, the last edition in which he carved a niche as one of the most famous captains to lift a side from the hopelessness of near extinction. That such qualities of leadership and batsmanship were not good enough to convince the selectors of retaining the elder statesman in his 37th year, must surely be one of one-day cricket's most moving times ahead of the extravaganza. An error of which the first signs could well have been made to be felt when the Sri Lankans at long last went on the rampage last Thursday at Sydney in undermining a side which despite not having veterans Shane Warne, Glen McGrath, and Jason Gillespie through injury, drew on a 15-member resource on whom Chairman of Selectors, Trevor Horns had placed faith in a new look side from the dumped Waughs to retain the World Cup. While the discarded Stave Waugh will yet find consolation in the books of immortality in equalling the legendary Sir Don Bradman's record 29 Test centuries, as well as becoming only the second after compatriot Allan Border to join the elite 10,000-run club, by his century feat further accentuated by necessity of redeemption of a career from losing the captaincy of the Test team as well, his absence at South Africa 2003 could well make all the difference in determining who will wear the crown this time. For interestingly, Sri Lanka not only rose from the dumps of a gloomy December month that left the bad taste of three crushing defeats, two at the hands of England and one to Australia, to collect 6 points including the bonus point for a total of 7 from what had been a near exit door to Australia's 17 and England's 12. The Lankans allround display underscored by the total of 343 had English commentators Ian Botham and David Lloyd talking of the former world champions as a potential side in South Africa, come the big event. Sri Lanka was a vastly different team to the one that had taken a bashing with the entry of veterans Muttiah Muralitharan, Aravinda de Silva and Hashan Tillekeratne. Evidently, the Jayasuriya influence in their one-day fortunes was manifested as never before as the Lankan Captain rose to the occasion with a typically characterised century of the innovation only he in the world is capable of in leading the way to cap it with a great `man of the match' allround performance claiming 4 wickets as the Lankans exposed the inability of the Australian batsmen to cope against spin led by the guile of Muralitharan (2/48) and Aravinda's slow, heady stuff. Importantly, the Lankans had outplayed the Australians with spin as they had in the home Champions Trophy semi-final last year. In the wake of the Sydney win, the de Silva, Muralitharan, Jayasuriya formation in that order could well complement the bowling department based on a 3-man pace attack in Chaminda Vaas, Pulasthi Gunaratne and Dilhara Fernando in getting the right mix. That is going on the basis that both Australia and World Cup hosts South Africa which are the topmost favourites in that order have been found wanting against spin. The South Africa too having lost to the Lankans several times due to the inability of its batsmen to negotiate the slow, turning ball. It is a department on which dependance has been laid to a large extent by Sri Lanka in the past in negotiating 50 overs, and if Jayasuriya and de Silva could supplement the maestro Muralitharan, it would carry some clout. Much as the wickets are wholly different to sub-continent wickets. The Lankan camp can also take heart by the fact that Dilhara Fernando was a changed bowler from what he had been despite a few no balls, bowling a tidy line and length with the slow delivery to good effect which accounted for the wicket of Mathew Hayden who misread it and mistimed into the hands of Hashan Tillekeratne who added muscle to a hitherto weak fielding side by accounting for three outstanding close in catches. Significantly, the infusion of experience seems to have raised the moral of the Lankans, and it will be interesting to see whether they can continue in the same vein when they meet a rejenuvated England,fresh from winning the fifth Test, on Monday the 13 also at Sydney. Vice Captain,Marvan Atapattu's formwith the bat has continued to flourish as displayed in that 101-run knock in associating in a record 237-run partnership with Jayasuriya. The return of de Silva must certainly be a tonic as the Lankans look to get into full throttle. Jayasuriya's return to form and his weight to the team is inmeasurable. Recent failures are only because bowlers have worked to the decimeter through video footage on the weaknesses of a batsman who has been their scourge for his innovative strokeplay that has sent the ball crashing to and over the ropes time and again. The recent decline sadly had knave local critics including a t.v. compere calling for his axing. But Jayasuriya is a batting treasure best exemplified by his record statistics. Not only in the one-day game, but Test cricket as well. |
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