Nishan Madushka responds best to coach’s clarion call

• Three changes in squad for second ‘test’

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Prior to Sri Lanka ‘A’ commencing their second innings in the first drawn 4-day unofficial test against touring England Lions at Galle, with a massive deficit of 331 runs, head coach Avishka Gunawardene’s simple message to his batsmen was: “A couple of you guys go get a big one and book a seat for New Zealand”.

Opening batsman Nishan Madushka didn’t wait to be told twice for he answered the coach’s clarion call almost to the very letter by compiling a double century (241) that enabled Sri Lanka ‘A’ to come back strongly after being shot out for 136 in the second innings and pile up a massive 663-9 declared and, nearly turn tables on England Lions. 

Set a target of 333 to chase England Lions had their backs to the wall at 221-7 when rain came to their rescue with 20 overs yet to be bowled.

Whether Madushka has done enough to earn a place in the Sri Lanka Test team for New Zealand is left in the hands of the national selectors. It is not only in this particular innings, but this season, Madushka has been in supreme form reeling off five centuries including a triple hundred for Ragama CC in the Major League tournament and following it up with 150 (rtd out) for SLC Board XI against England Lions in the 3-day warm-up match.   

“What I can say is whether he is ready to play Test cricket or not we will see if and when he plays,” said Gunawardene. 

“He has scored double hundreds in club cricket, in Emerging and for Sri Lanka ‘A’, so he has basically proved himself in every format.”

“The best thing about him is his technique. He is one of those batsmen I have seen who plays the ball very late. That’s a very good sign for an opener. In the recent past I have seen Pathum (Nissanka) and Kaushal Silva, after that, this is the guy I have seen playing that way.”

“He keeps it very simple. Because of his technique and the way he plays there is hardly any weakness that I can see. There is nothing called right or wrong in cricket, everyone has a different technique. 

“His technique is he plays it very late and when he wants to change gears, he has the ability to do that. Obviously when you look at his record, he has got 3-4 double hundreds under his belt and that shows his temperament.”

“Madushka’s game was made much easier because Oshada (Fernando), Laksthika Manasinghe, Nuwanidu (Fernando) and Nipun (Dananjaya) kept the scoreboard ticking. It was a good balance because Madushka held up one end and didn’t need to worry about scoring runs because the others were doing it. He just needed to bat through.”

Madushka said that with every opportunity he gets he tries to contribute as much as he can to the team.

“As a team we all played together as one, that’s why we were able to come back and dominate the match.”

Madushka said that he doesn’t have any big ambitions of going to New Zealand but added: “I just want to take the opportunities that come my way and give off my best. I was able to play long innings without any difficulty because of my fitness. Before the match I prepared myself properly. For the remaining matches also, I hope to do the same and maintain my fitness.”

Gunawardene praised his team’s splendid comeback in the second innings after being bowled out for 136 on the opening day. 

“It showed the character of the boys, their capabilities and their talent. It’s just about believing in themselves, applying it and going out and expressing themselves. That’s exactly what they did.”

On being deprived of a possible win, Gunawardene said: “With their batsmen all out, it was just the bowlers that were left. Our bowlers were getting a bit of turn from the footmarks, so if you take the ratio 112 runs and their 9, 10 and 11 you give the bowling a chance.”

Sri Lanka ‘A’ has made three changes to their 15-man squad for the second unofficial test starting at Galle tomorrow. Oshada Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Amshi de Silva have been left out and in their place Kamindu Mendis, Lasith Croospulle and Vishwa Fernando have been drafted in.