Confident Sri Lanka prepare for Tests (2 September 1999)

2 September 1999

Confident Sri Lanka prepare for Tests

Trevor Chesterfield

Weligama (Sri Lanka) - It has not been a too uncommon sight this year. Australia's captain Steve Waugh gracefully admitting defeat with the sort of pained grimace you would expect from someone about to hurl themselves off the famed coathanger spread across Sydney Harbour.

Whether dangling from the bridge making up his mind whether to jump or not, you were left with the distinct impression that Waugh, the captain and not the younger twin, had not expected to make a losing speech. And the way Shane Warne bowled this Aiwa Cup series, well they mystery seems to have gone. Headingley, Edgbaston and Lord's mere signposts leading to Premadasa Stadium where Australia have to admit they were hoodwinked by the coach you would have thought was a prime candidate for Geoff Marsh's job.

Yet we had Waugh (the elder) saying the right things in praise for Sri Lanka's success in winning the limited overs series before attention turns to the tougher Test series not too far off.

Perhaps Warne will recapture some glory again when he finds a surface to help him. Perhaps he will have the live through the same nightmare he experienced in India last year. Kandy, though, is known to help the seamers than the spinners and the trio of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Damien Fleming might become quite a handful for the Sri Lanka side which takes on board a few old hands missing from the one-day slogs.

So what went wrong for the World Cup holders barely two months into their reign? If you read the signals from Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore it was a simple matter of switching the top order for maximum effect: Romesh Kaluwitharana for Sanath Jayasuriya. Waugh and Co had a plan for Jayasuriya but applying it to Kaluwitharana was a matter they had not expected. You can switch off an episode of that yawnmaking telly soap neighbours but you cannot switch game plan A to one which has yet to be invented. What went through the minds of Waugh and Warne when they saw Marvan Atapattu and Kaluwitharana strike out would have been interesting for any eavesdropper when the two held their first 'chinwag' after the first five overs and the breakthrough had not materialised.

Well, what was said on the night of the comprehensive defeat by eight wickets and at a media conference on Wednesday was all very predictable. Anyone who has paid close enough attention to the rebuilding efforts by the Sri Lanka side would quickly spot the changes in attitude. This was a side with a job to do and without the encumbrances of players with chips on their shoulders.

In fact, the players, without a manager, without a coach and feeling rejected, started their fitness and fielding programme barely a week after returning from the World Cup fiasco. It showed the commitment of the players in and outside the squad. What has emerged since has been a careful rebuilding programme; anyone who cared to listen to Sidath Wettimuny, the convener of selectors, would be all too aware of the planning and long-term aims of the Sri Lanka selectors with the firm support of the interim committee.

Success has probably come sooner than they expected and they know that winning one tournament against Australia is not so much a vindication of their immediate policies as a justification of deeper, long-term philosophies. Sure it needed the canny expertise of Whatmore to help crystallise the thinking. Most Sri Lanka commentators, highly critical of Wettimuny and his coselectors, called it a revolution. Whatmore termed it "a period of transition", which is far more accurate that the hysterical approach of those who wished to remained ill informed until Wednesday night when they also climbed aboard.

"There is still a lot of work to be done," said Wettimuny. "There is a Test series to be played and we have to concentrate on that, too. Yet it is good to know we are doing the right things and now the people can appreciate why we are doing them."

On another front, Aravinda de Silva has thrown his bat in the otherwise still waters as the side enjoyed a few hours of glory. He refused to play for the Board XI in the four-day game starting on Friday at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium on the other side of the city. An area which is a little more down at heel than most. The venue replaced the dilapidated Moratuwa ground as the ground where Australia are to give their possible Test players a chance to acclimatise to conditions.

De Silva let it be known he was not prepared to play in the fourday game against the Australians. He had nothing to prove and . . . well, there would be time enough in the Tests.

At least the temperamental De Silva's attitude gives Hashan Tillekarantne a chance and as captain of the side with Russel Arnold pressing for a place along with Tuwan Dilshan, who has returned from a successful tour of England and Denmark with the Sri Lanka A side. Indika Gallage, Nimesh Perera and Rangan Herath have also been selected for a side which will give the selectors an idea of form before they announce the Test side on Monday or Tuesday.

What is interesting is question of who will keep wicket in the Test series. There is a thought Prasana Jayawardene, who impressed at the last youth (under19) World Cup in South Africa, might earn selection after his tidy work on the tour with the A side. That will no doubt upset a few people after Kaluwitharana's batting exploits on Tuesday night in the Aiwa Cup final.

While Arjuna Ranatunga is working hard to lose weight ('To keep up with the fit youngsters' you understand) the selectors may still drop one of the old guard to allow the experiment policy a chance to develop.

It leaves us with a Test side looking far different to what you would have expected six months ago. Arnold could be thrust in to opening with Atapattu and Jayasuriya drop down the order to possibly six. Chaminda Vaas may make way for Promodya Wickremasinghe and Indika Gallage looks a better prospect at Test level than say Suresh Perera. But if you listen carefully to Wettimuny, the selectors will not be rushed.

Source :: Trevor Chesterfield