India in cruise mode, Lanka gasping Australia ‘ahead’ despite contract row: Lehmann
confidence level is so low even some of the Sri Lanka Board officials are privately joking about the number of days the final Test, starting on Saturday, will last. Even after making some allowance for rain to rob a day’s play, the bet is on four days.
While the Indian team stands on the cusp of achieving a Test series whitewash, it’s a sad situation for Sri Lanka cricket, whose earlier generations built a reputation for an entertaining brand of cricket.
It’s not just the India series. The first signs of rut were visible in their struggles against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka just about managed to keep them at bay in the home series. But alarm bells started to ring when Zimbabwe ran them close. And their worst fears have come true against India.
It’s no surprise the crowds have stayed away from the games. Galle generally pulls in the best attendance for Tests in Sri Lanka, but this time even the Test faithful stayed away. And there were few takers for cricket at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground too. And even though the teams have been in Pallekele, near Kandy, for two days, there’s hardly any buzz about the third Test.
So, what ails Sri Lanka cricket? Is the younger generation losing interest in the game, as unlike India where cricket towers over other disciplines, there are other sports like rugby which have a good following here?
Former skipper Aravinda de Silva says cricket’s status as a mass sport is still intact. “The interest is there, no doubt about it. We are going through a rebuilding process, but you can’t be saying that forever. You should know where things have gone wrong and need to put it right fast. The longer you wait, this process is going to get longer. We need to seriously look at the long term and stick to the plan,” said Aravinda.
The series against India should force the Sri Lankan cricket officials to do soul searching. They will have to take a hard look at their domestic structure as pointed out by some of their players. During the second Test Dimuth Karunaratne, opening batsman and Sri Lanka’s main performer in the series, lamented the limited exposure for the players.
“They (India) played a lot of good cricket (in this series). They’ve played a lot of IPL and first-class cricket. In Sri Lanka, we only have 8 to 10 domestic first-class matches. Then we have five onedayers. That’s it for the season. I think that’s the main reason. We have to play more first-class cricket and then we can find more players who can dominate the game. That’s the thinking – what SLC have to work on for the players.”
Going into the final Test at Pallekele, all the pressure is on the home team to come out and make a statement. And it has showed in the general approach of the two sides during the series.
The tense Sri Lankan team has been totally focused on getting as much training as possible while India have been relaxed, restricting rigorous practice sessions to one each before the Tests.
After stretching every sinew on Thursday, Virat Kohli’s side took a day off on Thursday with many taking time out to visit the famous hill resort of Nuwara Eliya, a couple of hours drive from Kandy.
Darren Lehmann believes Australia are “ahead of the game” in their preparation to tour Bangladesh, despite their players having spent the best part of the last two months unemployed.
The majority of Australian stars have been away from the game since their Champions Trophy elimination in June as a dispute between Cricket Australia and the players’ union left their security - and the tour of Bangladesh - in jeopardy.
However, last week’s settlement means the two-Test trip is back on, with Bangladesh welcoming Lehmann’s men to Mirpur and Chittagong. Australia met in Darwin on Wednesday to begin a pre-tour training camp, with the first warm-up game in Fatullah scheduled for less than two weeks’ time - but Lehmann says fitness is no concern.
“Until you get there you don’t know,” Lehmann told cricket.com.au of fears that his side could be undercooked.
“We’re squeezing enough in this next week, and guys have been doing stuff with their states. Even through the MOU [negotiations] they were training and preparing as though they were playing.
“So in terms of fitness, they are probably ahead of the game, they’re really strong and fit which is really pleasing. Now it’s just getting their skills up to the required level before we leave.”
Australia have won just two Tests in Asia since a 2-0 series victory in Bangladesh over a decade ago and suffered a whitewash in Sri Lanka last year.
However, Lehmann believes the side’s preparations this time around will help them break their sub-continent funk.
“The NTCA have been fantastic, they’ve made wickets very similar to what we’ll get in Bangladesh – they’re low and they’re slow, and they will spin,” Lehmann said.
“There’s three wicket blocks that are more like Dhaka, three wickets that are a bit like Chittagong and centre wicket facilities so we can play a match and work on our fielding.
“We’ve got enough sessions in place, and then we’ve got enough time when we get there, weather permitting.
“I think we’ll be fine, we’ve got a two-day game which is a mixture of players, the wicket will be very similar to what we encounter for the first Test then we’ve got training sessions before that Test starts as well.”