English challenge awaits Lankans after being hurt in South Africa
England's last visit was a total disaster for Sri Lanka - File pic
South Africa is tough to tour. Not many teams have conquered its challenges — the swing, the seam and the uneven bounce has undone many a top class batsman. But this time’s defeat hurts badly.
Not that a Sri Lankan victory had been expected (the like of their historic triumph two years ago). But there certainly had been prospects of at least an impressive show. But Sri Lanka slumped miserably. A draw in at least one game would have been as good as a win, at this point, especially how difficult conditions were. But Sri Lanka lost both Tests, and comprehensively.
At Centurion, Sri Lanka capitulated by an innings and 45 runs. This was understandable as injuries to at least four players weakened their batting and bowling. Dhananjaya de Silva, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara and Dinesh Chandimal were all hurt during the Centurion game and did not participate in the series any further.
Having scored 396 runs, their highest total in South Africa, Sri Lanka were in the box-seat for a day-and-a-half of the match. If not for the injuries to their key bowlers, they might have put the hosts under pressure. Instead, a depleted attack played into the hands of the South Africans.
At Johannesburg, with six of their top players out with injuries, the writing was on the wall for the Lankans. Still, the manner in which they capitulated leaves questions ahead of the England series which is set to begin on Thursday.
A few individuals, however, stood out. The half-centuries by Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga in the opening game were impressive as was Hasaranga’s debut bowling performances. Vishwa Fernando’s five for — the first in his career — were outstanding. So was Asitha Fernando’s three-wicket haul in the debut game. Overall, the manner in which Dimuth Karunaratne composed his innings against some quality fast-bowling on the way to his 10th Test century was magnificent.
Of concern, however, was the form of Kusal Mendis who is one of the most promising young batsman in the world. Having made 12 in the first innings in Centurion, he collected three pairs in his next three innings — an indication that this highly-rated cricketer is low in confidence. His dreadful run in South Africa has attracted much criticism on social media, with selectors now reconsidering his place in the side for the home series against England.
Personal milestones didn’t give the win Sri Lanka needed and a crushing defeat marked the start of the New Year. As coaching staff and skipper admitted, the side was totally underprepared for the series.
Many other factors also contributed. During an year in which competitions were cancelled one after another, Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) priority was to kickstart the Lanka Premier League (LPL), a domestic T20 league with foreign flavour. Despite multiple financial and logistical challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the board pulled off a successful tournament in November/December.
The LPL was necessary to improve the standard of local cricketers. Just like IPL helped the Indians — with several new cricketers being lifted to international level after each season — Sri Lanka needed new talent to emerge in order to strengthen the national team’s global positioning. The LPL provided that platform and should be used even in future to shape Sri Lankan cricket. But should this happen at the cost of international cricket?
The board wanted all their top layers in action at the LPL to boost the value of the competition, thereby making it lucrative for all involved. Except for skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne and a few others, everyone was cleared to play.
This proved costly. The long COVID-19 break certainly added to everyone’s woes. But had SLC thought wisely and taken measures to provide enough preparaton for those playing the longer format, injuries to multiple players could have been avoided. The team needed proper Test match-oriented training — not a regimen tailor-made for T20 cricket –ahead of a Test series.
Angelo Mathews did not make the tour after injuring his hamstring while Suranga Lakmal and Oshada Fernando travelled with injuries, hoping to return to action but could not do so.
“Maybe if we had…in hindsight…we would have tried to preserve a lot of our main players,” replied Head Coach Mickey Arthur, when asked whether Sri Lanka should have rested some of their seamers during the LPL.
“But then again, that would have devalued the competition. If I had my time again, we probably would have pulled some of our quicks out of it.”
After being confined to their homes for months, Dimuth Karunaratne’s men resumed training in September for the Bangladesh series scheduled for October. The players went through two residential camps in Colombo but the series was cancelled over strict health guidelines, later relaxed to accommodate the LPL.
Thereafter, the players were sent to Pallekele for a training session, a month ahead of team’s scheduled departure to South Africa. This was before the LPL. The players were camped for ten days and trained with the red ball. That’s hardly enough for an away Test series in South Africa, where fast and bouncy wickets await.
“We had two weeks where we began to load the players up again,” he continued.
“Then, unfortunately, we had the LPL. From our residential camp, we lost our players due to the LPL for a month, through no fault of anybody. That’s just how it worked. We got them back the day we left for South Africa.” These were the circumstances that contributed to injuries during the opening game at Centurion.
“In terms of loads, in terms of conditioning, in terms of quarantining, I think you can throw all of that into a melting pot and every one of them played some role,” he said.
“We didn’t get enough time here, and that’s through no fault of anybody. That’s just how the calendar worked out. We knew we were going to endanger some guys which is why we brought 21 players.”
On Thursday, Sri Lanka will take on England on a turning wicket at Galle, hoping for a reversal of their fortunes. One thing is clear. It won’t be a walk in the park for the islanders against Englishmen.