Mendis, Samarawickrama provide answers to Sri Lanka's middle-order woes

Sri Lanka's opening game of the World Cup Qualifier was pretty much as textbook an execution of their game plan as head coach Chris Silverwood could have hoped for.

The top order set a platform, the middle order kept things ticking, the set batters then began the acceleration in that brief period between the 30th and 40th over, before the launch was executed consummately at the death. The bowlers, led by Wanindu Hasaranga, then proved just too good for some admittedly spirited UAE batters.

Now, as to whether Sri Lanka can put together such performances consistently remains a pertinent question for another day, but what we did learn from this resounding victory was that this is most definitely a side making rapid progress.

Sure there are still problems to be addressed, a seam-bowling unit that needs to be wrapped in cotton wool and an opening pair that consume dot balls like they're hard-boiled eggs, are two very pertinent ones. But, whisper it quietly, despite all their recent chaos, in Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sri Lanka may finally be coming close to resolving their longstanding middle-order woes - ironic since both batters are arguably better served at the top of the order.

While a majority of their interactions in the middle have been for the Sri Lankan Under-19 side - they've played just six ODIs alongside each, of which three have come in the past month - it seems that they have nevertheless found in each other kindred spirits.

For all of Mendis' brashness and tendency to throw away promising platforms, Samarawickrama seems well equipped at ushering his former Under-19 captain through the middle overs and into the point in the game in which most damage can be done.

While this strategy has admittedly fallen short in the two games this year that both have partnered up - Mendis falling for 78 against both Afghanistan and UAE - both games have nevertheless seen the pair combine to guide Sri Lanka through the middle overs and catalyse a late-overs onslaught.

In the second ODI against Afghanistan earlier this month, they put on an 88-run stand at a little over a run-a-ball having joined up in the 23rd over - a partnership in which the highlight was a purposeful upping of the scoring rate from overs 30-35. A carbon copy of this blueprint was put into effect against the UAE, with the pair coming together in the 27th over and putting together a 105-run partnership off just 79 deliveries. It's no coincidence that in both matches Sri Lanka have managed to surpass the 300-mark, a feat they've otherwise rarely accomplished over the past five years.

But where Sri Lanka are truly fortunate, is that these two players seem to be linking up at just the right times in their respective careers.

It's a fascinating microcosm of the chaotic progression structure of Sri Lanka's cricketing setup, that despite both Mendis and Samarawickrama having come through the same Under-19 batch, they've had such diverging paths to the national side.

Mendis, of course, was the older and more highly regarded of the two, having been captain of the Under-19 side and known for his brazen stroke play. He made his Test debut in 2015 aged just 20, and by the end of his sophomore year had notched a match winning 176 against Australia, as well as a handful of ODI fifties.

As for Samarawickrama, his route to the national side was more winding. He scored a fluent 38 on Test debut against Pakistan in 2017, but following a chastening tour of India later that year was left out of the Test side for six years. He wouldn't return until earlier this year against Ireland, when he registered a maiden Test ton. Meanwhile in ODIs and T20Is his inclusion was sporadic, never truly grabbing his chance but also never really being given a run of games to find his footing - another victim of a particularly dire period in Sri Lankan cricket, in which selection was at its most volatile.

During this period, only a handful of players remained mainstays, one of whom was Mendis. While this spell coincided with a prolonged period of inconsistency, the selectors still kept their faith in a man seen as one of the stars of the future. That faith is now being handsomely repaid but it wasn't without its trials. Coming through in an age in which social media was gaining increasing prevalence, Mendis' downturn in form made him a prime target for the ire of disgruntled fans, which in turn impacted his performances further. He struggled off the field too, suspended for his role in breaking Covid protocols alongside Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka.

But upon his return from suspension, a more focused version of Mendis emerged. Last year saw him rack up 388 runs in ODIs at an average of 48.50, his best non-Covid impact in the calendar year since 2016, which was when he made his debut. In T20Is too he found another gear, consistently setting the tone at the top of the order, and playing an integral role in Sri Lanka's Asia Cup triumph.

Samarawickrama, in the meantime, was grinding the domestic circuit, patiently waiting for his opportunity - which given past evidence, something there was no guarantee would come. But it was his performances in last year's Lanka Premier League, which arguably turned the tide in his favour. Scoring 294 runs at an average of 58.8 and a strike rate of 131.25 for champions Jaffna Kings, Samarawickrama was named Player of the Series, but more importantly his versatility across the batting order proved invaluable.

This earned him a recall to the limited-overs and eventually Test squads, but even then it was only following a failed flirtation with Angelo Mathews that Samarawickrama eventually got his break in the playing XI. This time though he took his chance.

If the Samarawickrama that was first called up all those years ago was an impetuous top-order batter prone to lapses in concentration, now his temperament is arguably his best quality.

Against the UAE, he racked up 21 singles, but once it was time to pick up the pace, he had the ability and wherewithal to shift gears as needed. Having scored just two boundaries across his first 39 deliveries, he would score seven more across the next 25 balls faced - motoring from 31 off 39 to his eventual score of 73 off 64.

"I was planning to go for a big one, but from a team point of view, I had to go for runs at that point," Samarawickrama would state after the game. "I knew that there were power hitters to come after me, so I was just looking at scoring two boundaries an over at that stage."

What must be pointed out here is also the knock on effect on Mendis, someone who has in the past shown a propensity to get bogged down, unable to rotate the strike, and then lose his wicket trying to break free. With Samarawickrama by his side, he's running more - against the UAE he ran 27 singles - and conversely feeling less pressure to search for the boundary.

The next step is in getting Mendis to be around at the death, something that is likely a large part of Sri Lanka's game plan if their World Cup campaign is to be any kind of success. Fortunately for them, in Samarawickrama they might just have found the ideal foil to help get him there more often than not.