Jayasuriya takes the blame

Sanath Jayasuriya, the elder statesman of the Sri Lanka team, was happy to take the blame for running out team-mate Kumar Sangakkara, a dismissal which contributed largely to their 149-run loss to Australia in the first Test at Darwin.

Having got a close leg-before decision against him in the first innings, Sri Lanka were looking to the in-form Sangakkara to make a big score in the second innings. But he faced only four balls before he was run out. He responded to a call for a risky single by Jayasuriya and failed to beat Damien Martyn's direct hit from cover point.

"I misjudged the run and I admit it was my fault. I shouldn't have gone for that single," said Jayasuriya, whose own game seemed to be affected after that dismissal. "We had to rotate the strike otherwise if you get stuck on one side for four to five overs you will eventually get out, especially on this kind of wicket. I take full responsibility for that run out."

He added: "Normally I don't worry about such things. But I was upset when Kumar was out because he was our batsman in form." Sangakkara had come into the Test having scored an unbeaten double-century in the four-day warm up game against a Chief Minister's XI at the same venue.

Four overs after Sangakkara was dismissed, Jayasuriya was then out for 16 when he fell leg before to a fast swinging full toss from Glenn McGrath, who had openly said that he was targeting Jayasuriya's wicket during the series.

Jayasuriya also revealed that during the 73 minutes he spent at the wicket, the Australians were constantly chirping at him, saying that all they needed was his wicket for them to wrap up the Test.

Reflecting on his second innings dismissal, Jayasuriya said: "I missed the ball totally. It swung late in the air in the last minute and I missed it. I didn't want to play a cross bat shot. All I wanted to do was to play straight and occupy the crease. It was not easy to play shots on that kind of wicket. I thought I would stay as long as possible to see the shine off. Our task was made even more difficult by the accuracy with which the three Australian fast bowlers bowled.

"McGrath, Gillespie and Kasprowicz bowled in the right areas constantly. They made very little errors for us to play shots. On a very good wicket we would have gone after them, but certainly not on this."

Sri Lanka are not due to tour Australia until November 2007 and, at 35, it is very unlikely that Jayasuriya will be seen again in Australia. Cairns, the venue of the second Test starting on Friday could probably be his last Test on Australian soil. "It could be my final innings in Australia, but retirement has been furthest from my mind. I am playing well at the moment and I am fit," said Jayasuriya. "I want to take it tour by tour and see how I perform. Everything depends on my performance. I have been training and looking after my fitness really well."

He continued: "Getting runs in Australia is a big achievement for any team. It is not easy to perform against the best team in the world under their conditions. I have always wanted to perform in Australia. If I get the opportunity in Cairns I will. If I perform well it is good for the team."

Jayasuriya also said that to succeed against Australia you had to be aggressive. "You have to be on top of them all the time. We were on top of them from day one in the 1999 series which we won.

"In the present series we have been able to dominate them only in the first innings which is not enough. We had this bad experience of losing to Australia even in Sri Lanka. It is disappointing. The players have realized what went wrong. The bowlers have done their job magnificently. The area that is a worry for us is our batting."

He added: "Whenever somebody gets in he should go on and play a big innings. That has been the unfortunate part of our batting. The batsmen should concentrate more and get through the hardest period and go and get a big one. Each individual must have his own responsibilities. We have been talking of not losing wickets during sessions. When you play the best side in the world you have to play hard."