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Tuesday, 25 February 2014 00:18 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
On Saturday, against Bangladesh, the three batsmen weren’t really missed. Jayawardene hadn’t featured in the entire series and in the absence of Dilshan, who had injured his finger, Kusal Perera slammed his first ODI century. Dinesh Chandimal, who took over the rested Sangakkara’s wicketkeeping gloves, scored 64 as Sri Lanka completed a comfortable six-wicket win to sweep the series 3-0.
It was a good end to a tour that had contained, across all formats, plenty of glimpses of batting potential for a future without the big three. Chandimal, Kaushal Silva and Kithuruwan Vithanage had scored centuries during the Test series, Ashan Priyanjan made an important 60 in the second ODI and Thisara Perera smashed a 57-ball 80 to dig Sri Lanka out of a hole during the first ODI.
All of this will have given Sri Lanka a not too shabby vision of how things might look in the post-big-three era. With two of them back in the side, it will also give the team the appearance of a solid top order when they open their Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan. A top seven of Kusal Perera, Jayawardene, Sangakkara, Chandimal, Priyanjan, Mathews and Thisara Perera looks like a pretty good mix of talent, experience and recent form.
Scratch beneath the surface, however, and things don’t look quite as good. Since the start of 2013, only four Sri Lankan batsmen with 10 or more ODI appearances have averaged over 30. Predictably enough, those four are Sangakkara, Dilshan, Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews.
With their scores in the final ODI against Bangladesh, Perera and Chandimal only bought themselves a bit of breathing room. In a team with a bigger talent pool, they may not have had that chance.
Leading up to his century, Perera had averaged 15.00 over 13 innings leading up to the start of the World T20 in June 2013. He had been dismissed for single-digit scores in nine of those 13 innings. Those aren’t the most reassuring numbers for an opener. Chandimal, meanwhile, had come into the match plagued by a very different issue: he had been out in single figures only three times in that period, but had only scored one half-century.
Both will need to build on what they did in their last match. For Sri Lanka’s younger batsmen, in general, the Asia Cup could be an important tournament, in the sense of showing them where they stand, in their last major ODI tournament before the World Cup.
Sri Lanka have been in Bangladesh for nearly a month now, and that might give them a small advantage at the start of the tournament. But when their batsmen strap on their pads on Tuesday, they will face a genuinely high-class attack for the first time on this entire trip.
They didn’t do too badly when they faced Pakistan in the UAE two months ago, losing 3-2 in a generally high-scoring series. But in the third and fourth ODIs, when the pressure was at its highest, they were bowled out for 213 (chasing 327) and 225. Both times, they were three down for less than 50 against the new ball.
Sri Lanka will face plenty of situations like that, against bowling attacks of similar quality, on their road to the World Cup. Their younger batsmen will need to show they can perform in those situations if they are to lessen the load on the big three. Sangakkara and Jayawardene are 36, and Dilshan is 37. They won’t be around forever.
Pakistan kickstart Asia Cup defence against Sri LankaPakistan are determined to defend their trophy, but Sri Lanka’s captain Angelo Mathews remains optimistic as the two cricket giants face off in the opening match of the five-nation Asia Cup on Tuesday. Pakistan, who won the title in 2012, are aiming to put pressure on their opponents with a team balancing experienced players and newcomers. Both teams are focusing not just on the opening match but on the whole tournament. “We have played a lot against Pakistan and India,” Mathews told reporters at a news briefing on Monday. “We know them and they also know us.” “All the teams are even. They will want to win the matches. We also would like to win. Hopefully there will be a really good competition,” he added. “I think we need to show more good performance to go further,” Mathews said. “Beating Bangladesh 3-0 doesn’t mean that it would be easier for us to win the Asia Cup. It will be a tough tournament and there will be huge challenges.” Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq said on Sunday that they have taken spirit from the series wins over Sri Lanka and South Africa, and will fight to defend the Asia Cup title. The team beat Bangladesh in the 2012 final. While the team has several relatively-inexperienced players including Sharjeel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Mohammad Talha, Bilawal Bhatti and Anwar Ali, it also has Misbah himself and Mohammad Hafeez, who will play a key role in the side’s batting. “Ahmed Shehzad has been part of our team for quite a while, he has been doing well,” Misbah said. “Sharjeel Khan had an average series, but he gave glimpses of being a good player, he can time the ball well. We are looking forward to seeing him develop into a good player,” he said. “Maqsood played well in South Africa and against Sri Lanka. With experienced players, a few youngsters like Anwar Ali and Bilawal Bhatti, they are putting together some good scores. I am happy that it is a good, balanced unit,” he said. Misbah is not willing to take the Asia Cup tournament lightly, and is even serious about first-timer Afghanistan. “All teams have ability to win against any side,” he said. “It will be good competition. The last Asia Cup was witness of that — Bangladesh beat two big teams and they came close to us. You can expect any team to win against any team.” (AP) |
South Africa confirms two-Test tour to Sri LankaCSA and SLC have brought South Africa’s postponed Test tour of Sri Lanka forward by one year, but replaced one Test with ODIs. South Africa will play two Tests and three ODIs in Sri Lanka in July, a CSA release confirmed, but the original schedule had specified three Tests, in addition to the five ODIs and three Twenty20s that have already been played last year. SLC had requested the Tests be moved to 2015, ostensibly to vacate the schedule for a Sri Lanka Premier League, but space in both teams’ schedule in July has allowed a change of plans. The release said the two-match Test series would be “fulfilling the series against Sri Lanka, which was postponed last year”. No dates have yet been set for the matches, but the advancement of the tour breaks up Sri Lanka’s lengthy stretch without a home Test; the last home Test they played was in March 2013. The only incoming tour in their 2014 schedule had been a limited-overs series against England in November. The advancement also enables a final tilt at the top-ranked Test team for Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. The pair had been instrumental in Sri Lanka’s 2-0 victory over South Africa in their most-recent tour of the island in 2006, which is also the last series South Africa had lost away from home. Sangakkara had been particularly irked by the postponement of last year’s Tests, suggesting it had been a lost opportunity for his team, because South Africa have struggled in Sri Lankan conditions. |
