Sri Lanka plan in advance against South Africa, aiming WTC final slot
With Sri Lanka needing at least three wins from their remaining four matches in the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle to have a shot at reaching the coveted final, Sri Lanka Cricket is taking proactive steps to prepare. The organisation plans to send its long-format cricketers to South Africa two weeks in advance to help them acclimatise to the challenging conditions.
Sri Lanka is set to face South Africa in a crucial two-match Test series starting November 27 in Durban—a series that could significantly influence Sri Lanka’s chances in the WTC.
“We will be sending some of the Test players who are not part of the white-ball setup to South Africa on November 12, along with two coaches,” announced
Sri Lanka’s batting coach on Friday, prior to the team’s last ODI against the West Indies.
“We are in very good momentum at the moment and need to carry that forward into the South Africa after the New Zealand series win. They are ranked higher than us, but at the same time, we need to prepare ourselves for the South African Test series, which is critical. South Africa is a tough place, especially for batters, so we are discussing how we can best utilise our resources.”
Currently, Sri Lanka sits third in the WTC points table, with five wins and four losses from nine matches, giving them a point percentage of 55.56. Ahead of them are Australia, their final opponent in the WTC cycle with a percentage of 62.50, and India, who leads with 62.82. New Zealand, following their series win over India with a game to go, are in the fourth place with a percentage of 50.
For Dhananjaya de Silva’s men to secure a spot in the top two, they must finish with a higher PCT than at least one of India or Australia. Overtaking Australia appears to be the more feasible route, as Sri Lanka will face them at home in a two-match Test series.
According to Wisden, if Sri Lanka manages to defeat Australia 2-0 and South Africa 2-0, they will boost their PCT to 69.23, which would almost guarantee qualification for the final. Depending on the outcomes of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, one of Australia or India may exceed 69.23, but it’s unlikely that both will.
If Sri Lanka draws 1-1 in South Africa, their PCT will stand at 61.54. A 1-0 win would elevate them to 64.10, while a 0-1 loss would see them finish at 56.41. A 0-2 defeat would drop them to 53.85, allowing South Africa to surpass them with a PCT of 54.17 (noting that they too have additional series to play).
Both South Africa and Australia present formidable challenges. Sri Lanka achieved a historic 2-0 win over South Africa in 2018— their only series victory in that country—but suffered a 2-0 defeat in the subsequent series in 2020-2021.
Against Australia, Sri Lanka had a remarkable series win in 2016, led by Angelo Mathews, when they triumphed 3-0. However, the upcoming series will be tough, as Australia is the defending WTC champions and currently the top Test side in the world. Since the start of 2023, they have won 10 of their 18 matches, boasting a win/loss ratio of 2.0, the second-best during this period, trailing only India (2.25). While Sri Lanka managed to secure a Test victory against Australia during their last tour in 2022, replicating that success will undoubtedly be a challenging task.