'Beating Pakistan was a big achievement' - de Silva

Harsha Vithana impressed with the bat on the tour to Pakistan © Getty Images Enlarge

One of the key factors to emerge out of Sri Lanka's Under-19 tour of Pakistan was the mental adjustment the players have to undergo from two-day to four-day cricket. This was quite evident in the two four-day Tests where Sri Lanka held the upper hand but was unable to convert the advantages into victory because of fielding lapses. The side managed to win the one-day series 2-1 and drew the Test series 0-0.

"We batted and bowled well," said Ashley de Silva, the manager of the side. "Although our ground fielding was OK our catching certainly was not consistent. Much of it had to do with their overall fitness. There was a fall in the standards of fitness after the second day because these boys were not used to playing four-day cricket."

School cricket in Sri Lanka is confined to two days and to suddenly ask the boys to extend it to four days took a heavy toll on them both physically as well as mentally. "The 20 days we spent in Pakistan was quite an experience for the boys. They played like a professional unit and showed more discipline than the Pakistanis," said De Silva. "We asked the boys to play positively and drilled into them that they were good enough to beat their opponents. One must remember that Pakistan are the Under-19 world champions and to beat them in their own conditions was a big achievement. The cricket played throughout was very competitive."

Sri Lanka won the first two one-day internationals and lost a high-scoring game at Karachi in the last over. De Silva added, "This side has potential and talent and they are now prepared to go to the next level which is to play in the A side."

There were five centurions on the tour with Chamara Kapugedera scoring two, one in the Test and the other in the one-dayers, and Harsha Vithana, Upul Tharanga, Kosala Kulasekera and Dimitri Siriwardene scoring one apiece. De Silva also had a word of praise for medium-pacer Charita Jayaweera whom he said bowled "extremely well" on the flat tracks prepared for the matches.