A series to savour for the Lankans gives a glimmer of hope for the passionate fans
Opener Avishka Fernando showed perfect form and maturity - Pic by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi
During a time where the national cricket team’s struggle continues to win matches and more importantly to gel as a unit, it is heartening to see how the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team performed in the recently concluded Unofficial One Day International series against Ireland ‘A’.
Throughout the series the Sri Lanka ‘A’ batsmen scored runs consistently, which showed that they have understood their respective roles in the team.
Opener Avishka Fernando has been an emerging player for Sri Lanka in the last couple of years. He continued to prosper during this series as well, by piling up 523 runs in five innings, at a staggering average of 104.6. He certainly seems to be a bright prospect in the future. Former Sri Lanka Under-19 captain Kamindu Mendis, who is a fast emerging prospect for the Lankan lions continued to impress during the series. He scored 137 runs at an average of 68.50.
According to their head coach Avishka Gunawardane both Avishka Fernando and Kamindu Mendis are contenders for the ICC World Cup 2019 squad.
Veteran Milinda Siriwardane also kept his hopes of returning to the national team alive as he had a decent series with both bat and ball. Allrounder Asela Gunaratne played a crucial role in Sri Lanka’s victorious campaign. He shone as an allrounder he was accurate and bowled with great control and kept the Irish batsmen on their toes.
Meanwhile the veteran opener Upul Tharanga has spent some valuable time in the middle and looks as if he is seeking way for a comeback into the national team. Despite having a decent series against Ireland ‘A’, chances of him making a return to the Lankan team remains uncertain.
Having a closer look at the bowling performances, all the bowlers did contribute throughout the series. The batsmen ensured that they have given their bowlers enough runs to defend throughout the series, but it is uncertain whether they can hold their nerves at pressure situations. That is the glaring question which remains to be answered.
On the other hand, the tourists had a difficult series but throughout they had their moments of joy. Over the years, the touring teams know how difficult it is to win a series in Sri Lanka and for Ireland it was a great learning curve.
Overall it was a series to savour for the Lankans but there is still a lot of areas to improve. However there is a glimmer of hope about the future of Sri Lanka cricket.