Dilshan the tease torments England
Tillakaratne Dilshan puts bowlers in a quandary, observes Simon Hughes in the Daily Telegraph
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
Tillakaratne Dilshan puts bowlers in a quandary, observes Simon Hughes in the Daily Telegraph. Do they keep on probing his perceived weakness - aiming at what they like to call ’fifth stump’ (two stump widths outside off) and risk leaking runs? Or do they go for the more conservative approach and bowl straight, trying to frustrate him?
When you see a batsman with such minimal footwork and an inclination to play with an open face, you immediately think as a bowler you’ll be in business with a bit of outswing from a fullish length outside off stump. And you might be right.
The dilemma though is that Dilshan loves width. Where a man like Alastair Cook will look to leave as much off target as he can, Dilshan is thinking runs as soon as he picks up the line of a ball wide of the stumps. His eyes light up, his back lift increases and he shapes to lash it through the covers. And such is his incredible eye and bat speed, he frequently succeeds.
Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo