P Epasinghe: Sri Lanka School Cricket Review (21 Nov 1996)

21 November 1996

Sri Lanka School Cricket Review

By Premasara Epasinghe

Opening batsmen can be considered the explorers of cricket. To begin with, everytime they go out, they are entering an unknown territory.

Through experience I can say that opening positions are the most important spots in cricket. Therefore, the responsibility of an opener is great. The opener must get his team off to a good start, if he fails, often, so does the side. We have seen on many occasions, a batting collapse follows the failure of one or both openers. Remember as an opener a heavy responsibility is thrust upon you.

First of all you have to adjust to the weather, primarily wind and light. One of the principal weapons of a fast bowler is his ability to swing. For this, wind plays a vital role.

Light is not that complicated, it is a matter of getting used to. You must be able to cope with the relative darkness of the dressing room to the glare of the mid ground area. Therefore it is always advisable to have a work out before you walk in.

Cricket is a thinking game. For the first time when you walk in to bat your mind must be able to capture all the ploys your opposing team makes to get you out. Keep an agile eye on the field placings. Remember as a opening batsman you have a challenging task to perform. As you are aware, making runs is what this game of cricket is all about. Of course, you must not take risks, but you must be able to make runs too. For this, as an opener you must have more than hundred per cent concentration and you must be confident that you are not going to get out however fast the deliveries that you are going to face. Usually, openers are very often very vulnerable to the out-swinger. The slip cordon is there to get you caught. Never be over-cautious. If you get a loose delivery punish it. Otherwise you will always put the bowlers on top. But watch out for the ones swinging away from your body.

Another basic need to be a successful opener is to have a total understanding with and, commitment to you partner. One useful tip on how to be a successful opener - ``Get to the bowlers end as much as possible``. If you are at the bowlers end your chances of getting out is very remote. If both batsmen are working on the same principle and rotating the strike, the bowlers have less chance of exerting pressure or putting their game plan into action. Therefore always have a partner who is able to exist together with you.

In brief, to be a successful opener you must have an appetite for the job, not be afraid of fast bowling, a good eye and a good batting technique, a high sense of responsibility, patience, determination and ability to concentrate and above all the right temperament. These are some of the important factors to take note of to be a fine opening batsman.

Most of the inter-school cricket matches played during the weekend did not produce any results. The best victory was recorded by St. Sebastian`s College, Moratuwa, when they beat Royal College, Colombo by 9 wickets. A few weeks back, Royal were beaten by Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya. The highlight of this match was the superb all-round performance by Sebastianite skipper Nimesh Perera (53 and 7 for 30).

The Dharmapala College, Pannipitiya and St. Peter`s College, Bambalapitiya, cricket encounter ended in a draw. Tall scoring was the highlight of the game. In the first innings, consistent rungetter of Dharmapala scored his fourth century during the season, and his team-mate Saman Wijeratne recorded his second century.

St. Peter`s gave a bold reply scoring 285 for 7 wickets. J. Fernando 93, R. Nonis 65, N. Herath 40, M. Warnapura 32, batted well for the Peterites.

The Ananda-Kingswood encounter ended in a no-decision. A fine spell of spin bowling by Kingswood left-arm spinner N. Rupasinghe, who had a match bag of 10 for 43 (4 for 46 and 6 for 47) was the highlight of this match.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)