After Carnage In Cardiff Lanka Salvage Some Pride

Roshan Abeysinghe
Reporting from England

It was an absolute relief to see the test series between England and Sri Lanka end without further damage to our reputation with the final series result of a 1-0 win for the hosts. After the madness in the first test it was expected that the Lankans would do everything possible to salvage some pride, though until late on the 4th day day it appeared that they would cave in.
The rearguard was started by none other than the debutant Lahiru Thirimanne who came in for high praise from the English crowds and knowledgeable commentators. I think Thirimanne is a gem and should be managed and persevered in the future too, to ensure that such players are not lost. I am sure most observers watching his second innings knock were impressed with the manner in which he handled the tall England pace attack under trying circumstances. It took a very fine delivery to get rid of him and I believe had he survived the fourth day with the pitch easing out, he would have gone on to make something big. It was a pity he missed the opportunity though the impression he made should be long lasting.
One man who not only survived the fourth day and profited on day five was Kumar Sangakkara. Surprisingly, without a hundred in England, the stand-in captain played one of the finest knocks he could possibly claim when he made a high class hundred. His innings definitely did answer his critics and was a welcome return to form ahead of the ODI series. Whilst Thilan Samaraweera too came in to his own with a polished knock which included some delightful driving, the biggest worry at the moment is Mahela Jayawardene. Easily one of the best batsmen in the world, Jayawardene has been unfortunate to receive some vicious and unplayable deliveries which has accounted for him. It is a known fact in cricket, that when you are out of form you are often the victim of either an unplayable delivery or an outstanding fielding effort or both! Jayawardene – judging by the snorters he received – appears to be in that situation. Despite the lack of runs of Jayawardene it was most pleasing to witness the manner the Lankans blunted and then dominated the feared England attack. The pitch flattened out, but one still had to conduct himself with discipline and also take on the new ball. The night watchman Rangana Herath deserves to be commended too for the manner in which he survived with a good mix of defence and some bold strokes. His batting in the first session was the major reason for Sri Lanka to lose just one wicket in the morning. Add to that the Sangakkara effort which was a study of concentration was very well supported by Samaraweera who did his own reputation a lot of good. It was their efforts on the last day that finally caused the game to be called off, when the long awaited rains appeared over the Rose Bowl. Whilst most people may remember the likes of Dilshan and Sangakkara in particular in the series, the real hero for Sri Lanka was the wicket keeper batsman Prasanna Jayawardene. It was a great delight to witness Jayawardene being made the man of the series for Sri Lanka. A worthy award for excellent work both behind and in front of the stumps! England a land famous for some great wicket keepers of yesteryear such as Les Ames, Godfrey Evans, Alan Knott and Bob Taylor to name a few, were made to regret their decline in that area as Jayawardene’s display behind the stumps against both pace and spin was efficient and quick, which was streets ahead of the English keeper Prior who despite being acrobatic, was never up to the keeping standard of his Lankan counterpart. Add to the keeping, Jayawardene was possibly the most stable and solid of the batsmen throughout the series with the exception of Dilshan as he never flinched against the short rising delivery which caused the Sri Lankan batsmen a surfeit of problems.
I am sure our readers will agree that this was a series the Lankans should have drawn and not lost had the application factor come in to play. The IPL issue which was a hot topic before the tour commenced I am sure was a reason too as let’s not forget that adjusting to English conditions is not the easiest proposition in the cricket world. The summer of this year had been the most fickle for a long time and the wet and the cold weather which prevailed in May and June only made matters worse for the tourists. This wouldn’t have helped the Lankans to adjust to conditions either and imagine how difficult it would be in that back drop to cope against an English pace attack that is so good in their back yard. Having said that and despite the Lankans not firing fully in the batting, to have scores of four hundred plus in the first two test matches was a credit to them.  The Cardiff second innings which was their real low point was the critical reason that became the final decider of the series. Whilst it is most unfortunate it was a lesson that should be remembered for the future and never repeated under any circumstances.
On the positive side, the successful elevation of Dilshan to the higher and cherished position of captain was the major factor. Prasanna Jayawardene did confirm his class and should be the undisputed wicket keeper batsman for Sri Lanka for some time. I am strongly of the view that it will be a good thing to look at Jayawardane in the one day light too as in the event Sangakkara is to feel more comfortable minus the gloves in that form of the game too, Jayawardene could be called in to take his place behind the stumps and also balance the team with his batting. The other most obvious plus in the batting was the emergence of Lahiru Thirimanne. After his epic hundred against Essex his batting at the Rose Bowl was commendable. He should be a permanent feature in the Sri Lankan line up in future.
In the bowing department there wasn’t much to show. This is in no way faltering the Sri Lankans for the lack of want to perform.  It was more a case of not being up to the mark in the seam friendly English conditions.  Welegedara who should have played in all three tests and Suranga Lakmal who did play in the entire series were the best of the bowlers. They provided the early breakthrough in every test match and did ask questions time and again from the English batting. I was also impressed with the manner in which Welegedara had the better of Strauss dismissing him in all three innings he bowled to the English captain!
So the test series is over and it will be the T20 and the ODI series now. I am sure the Lankans will feel confident of their chances in this version of the game considering their good record. Let’s hope for a happier ending there.