“We will bounce back” says Flower

The Second Test between Sri Lanka and England which gets under way at the Sinhalese Spots Club (SSC) grounds today promises to be a humdinger. The home side would like nothing better than a victory to seal the three test series, while the visitors are obviously keen to bounce back from their 88-rundefeat in Kandy and square the series before the third test in Galle – one of Sri Lanka’s favourite hunting grounds. Play will begin at 10 a.m. each day.

The SSC is no exception with the home team having won eight of the last ten test matches played at this venue. The only spoiler could be the weather with thunder showers forecast for the whole of this week. Otherwise it is the visitors who are on the backfoot before the coin is even tossed.

Manager of the Sri Lankan team Sriyan Samararatne speaking to The Sunday Times said that there were no injury concerns. England on the other hand have already lost ace seamer Matthew Hoggard due to injury. Fellow seamers Ryan Sidebottom and James Anderson reportedly had some minor ailment, as did Kevin Peterson. However, all three are expected to play with Steve Harmsion expected to get the nod ahead of Stuart Broad who has yet to play a test.

“We will bounce back hard”, vowed England’s batting coach Andy Flower. He added: “The batsmen played well in Kandy. But to win a test one guy has to make a big hundred which did not happen. I thought we played Muttiah Muralitharan pretty well. In the second innings he bowled 32 overs without success. But he still finished with nine wickets which is something we will be working on. Yes as a batsman I used to play Muralitharan quite well. But we have only one left hander in our top order. As for Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah. It was a tight call and actually the two of them are best of friends. I am pretty sure Shah will get a look in before the series is over.”

When asked about how England would tackle in form Kumar Sangakkara, Flower said: “You said it. We will be coming up with a plan for him. We will not finalise the playing eleven until we get a good look at the pitch. You never know we could go in with two seamers and two spinners or three seamers and one spinner. Sanath Jayasuriya retirement is a boost. Not only does he bring experience but his bowling is also a factor. Missing Hoggard is a blow because he is a class act. But we have the back up.”

Opening bowler Chaminda Vass dismissed England’s Alistair Cook early in both innings. Flower’s opinion was: “For that to happen twice in the same match is rare. Cook is a solid player and obviously when he is dismissed early it is a blow for the team. But it is something we have worked on.”

When asked about his role as batting coach, Flower said; “I am enjoying it. It is a fantastic challenge. And no I am not even thinking about being the national coach. I am very happy being the assistant.”

From the Lankan camp manager Samararatne said: “We go into every match with the determination to win it. Today’s game will be no exception. Yes Upul Tharanga will open with Michael Vandort. But we have not finalised the playing eleven as yet. I am not worried about Sangakkara. He knows the way he is batting the visitors will try to dismiss him early. He is experienced enough to cope with whatever England throw at him.”

He added: “I am happy that Chamara Silva and Jehan Mubarak have been given another chance. The selectors now don’t drop a player after one bad performance which is good for the cricketer in particular and Sri Lanka cricket in general. Silva has proved he is a class act. Mubarak will get the nod if we decide not to use an extra bowler. That will depend on the pitch. Team morale is very good. The seniors are helping the juniors and they are a happy bunch. Yes our performance in the first innings at Kandy was discussed. Basically there either has to be either two good partnerships or one very good partnership. The top order know that its up to them to figure in partnerships of around 150 runs and 100 runs with at least one player going on to score a big century. The rest can then bat around that person.”

In conclusion Samaratne said: “We have a fair idea of the pitch. If we bat first we have to see off the new ball without loosing any wickets if possible. No matter who replaces Hoggard, that bowler has to be given the same respect. And as for Vass, he knows we expect him to take a couple of wickets in his first spell and more often than not he has delivered. As a matter fact all the bowlers in the squad are playing well. Thus we have no real worries.”