Dyson - 'It was a magnificent innings'
After Mahela Jayawardene continued to frustrate the South African attack on the second day of the opening Test at Galle, John Dyson, the Sri Lankan coach, and Mark Boucher, the South Africa vice-captain and wicketkeeper, spoke to the press
Wisden Cricinfo staff
05-Aug-2004
After Mahela Jayawardene continued to frustrate the South African attack on the second day of the opening Test at Galle, John Dyson, Sri Lanka's coach, and Mark Boucher, the South African vice-captain and wicketkeeper, spoke to the press:
 |
|
John Dyson
On Sri Lanka's day
I thought we had a fantastic partnership this morning between Mahela [Jayawardene] and Vaasy [Chaminda Vaas]. I'm very happy with how the day has gone. We are not too badly placed. We were expecting to get between the 350 to 400 mark.
I thought we had a fantastic partnership this morning between Mahela [Jayawardene] and Vaasy [Chaminda Vaas]. I'm very happy with how the day has gone. We are not too badly placed. We were expecting to get between the 350 to 400 mark.
On Jayawardene's innings
It was a magnificent innings. I can't think of a single chance that he gave - he just batted beautifully. He was aggressive in his approach and he ran really well between the wickets.
It was a magnificent innings. I can't think of a single chance that he gave - he just batted beautifully. He was aggressive in his approach and he ran really well between the wickets.
On the pitch
It is very difficult to read the pitch. You have a look at it on Day One and form an opinion about how it is going to play, but it can play completely differently. So far, I think the pitch has played very well. It seems similar to the one for the Australia series. One very important factor down here is that it is very difficult to predict the weather. If it comes out hot and sunny, then the character of the wicket can change. But if you get a lot of rain in the night and it is cloudy in the morning, then somehow it seems to play better.
It is very difficult to read the pitch. You have a look at it on Day One and form an opinion about how it is going to play, but it can play completely differently. So far, I think the pitch has played very well. It seems similar to the one for the Australia series. One very important factor down here is that it is very difficult to predict the weather. If it comes out hot and sunny, then the character of the wicket can change. But if you get a lot of rain in the night and it is cloudy in the morning, then somehow it seems to play better.
On the prospects for the third day
We will go into tomorrow morning with the plan to catch a few wickets and put them under some pressure. You are only ever one ball away from a wicket, and it is just a matter of forcing enough pressure for a mistake. It is not surprising that they got off to a start like that, because the pitch played well and they have some good players.
We will go into tomorrow morning with the plan to catch a few wickets and put them under some pressure. You are only ever one ball away from a wicket, and it is just a matter of forcing enough pressure for a mistake. It is not surprising that they got off to a start like that, because the pitch played well and they have some good players.
Mark Boucher
On South Africa's morning
Obviously it is not nice to lose your captain, the man that makes all the decisions. It was always going to be tougher this morning in these conditions and because our guys haven't played much cricket in the last two months, so there were maybe a couple of stiff bodies. Having said that, I didn't think we bowled too badly, they just came out and played a little bit more aggressively today. We thought that if we could knock them over for under 350 we would be in with a good chance to dominate the Test match, but things don't always go to plan in Test cricket.
Obviously it is not nice to lose your captain, the man that makes all the decisions. It was always going to be tougher this morning in these conditions and because our guys haven't played much cricket in the last two months, so there were maybe a couple of stiff bodies. Having said that, I didn't think we bowled too badly, they just came out and played a little bit more aggressively today. We thought that if we could knock them over for under 350 we would be in with a good chance to dominate the Test match, but things don't always go to plan in Test cricket.
On South Africa's chances
I thought the guys [the openers] fought back really well. We are not out of the game and we can bat well and try to score 550 to 600, which we have done before. We can't worry about what is in the past - we can't control that any more. We have now got a good foundation.
I thought the guys [the openers] fought back really well. We are not out of the game and we can bat well and try to score 550 to 600, which we have done before. We can't worry about what is in the past - we can't control that any more. We have now got a good foundation.
On playing spin
We said at the beginning of the series that if you go out there and wait for a ball to spit, you are fighting a losing battle. You have got to go out there with a game plan, and if the ball is in the area to hit you have to hit it. They did really well out there and had a nice balance between attack and defence. The last time we came here we did not play spin too well and we have looked a lot into playing spin in the subcontinent. It is still early on and the ball is going to start turning and bouncing a bit more.
We said at the beginning of the series that if you go out there and wait for a ball to spit, you are fighting a losing battle. You have got to go out there with a game plan, and if the ball is in the area to hit you have to hit it. They did really well out there and had a nice balance between attack and defence. The last time we came here we did not play spin too well and we have looked a lot into playing spin in the subcontinent. It is still early on and the ball is going to start turning and bouncing a bit more.
On tomorrow
We are not going to worry too much about the outcome of the game at this stage, we are just going to take it session by session.
We are not going to worry too much about the outcome of the game at this stage, we are just going to take it session by session.