‘No time left to rebuild’
Does Lasith Malinga still have it in him to torment the Black Caps?
At 35, the Sri Lankan paceman is in the twilight of his career and doesn’t rip sides out with the regularity he did at his peak.
But the man with the blonde tips and unorthodox action will still demand attention when he leads his country against New Zealand in their threegame one-day international series starting at Mount Maunganui today.
Injuries have reduced Malinga’s international appearances in recent seasons but he’s still viewed as a key member of the ODI team in World Cup year.
He’s a rare veteran presence in the touring side who will be without injured all-rounder Angelo Mathews – and one that has been an inconsistent performer in recent years following the retirements of superstars such as Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
Yet Malinga insists it can’t be a rebuilding time for his team.
‘‘There’s not time to rebuild – the World Cup is this year,’’ he said at Bay Oval yesterday.
‘‘Now we have to find who is the best in Sri Lankan cricket.
‘‘The last three or four years we’ve struggled for consistency but a lot of the young players are getting good opportunities. Now is the time to stand up and show our character.’’
Malinga knows his team has to make a strong start to the series at Mount Maunganui after their only win in a 3-1 hammering in their last ODI series at home against England came in the final match.
‘‘The last couple of series we’ve performed well at the end of the tournament – what people have to understand is that we have to perform well when the series starts.’’
Malinga said a good start with the bat was also imperative; hinting that Sri Lankan may not go hell-for-leather from ball one.
‘‘We need to consolidate our first 10 overs, how we’re going to address the conditions, how we build a good partnership – then we have time to accelerate at the end of the innings.’’
With 311 ODI wickets at 28.71, Malinga is likely to bow out following the World Cup later this year but could yet give the home team’s batsmen a reminder of his prowess. Among his displays against New Zealand, the man with the deadly swinging yorker has returns of 3-14 in Auckland in 2007, 4-34 at the Champions Trophy in Cardiff in 2013 and 4-28 in Colombo in 2009.
He grabbed 5-44 versus England in Dambulla in October to serve a reminder of his ability, and when asked yesterday if he’d open the bowling, he grinned and nodded as if to say ‘I’m the captain after all’.