Sri Lanka wary of English threat – Dimuth

Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne with England skipper Joe Root   
Pic by Pradeep Dilrukshana   

Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne yesterday said his Test team are in a good mental space following the series win in Zimbabwe last year, but were wary of the threat that the visiting English team posed.   

A two-Test series will begin next week in Galle, before the second of the ICC Test Championship Tests played in Colombo.   

“We are in a good space, mentally, for this series. We did well against Zimbabwe but there is a lot more we can do to improve. This series counts towards the Test Championship as well and while we have the home advantage, England are a good team and they play well in these conditions,” Karunaratne said.   

We know we didn’t do well in the last series and they played really well in these conditions
- Karunaratne

Sri Lanka will have a different look to their spin bowling unit to the one that played in the last English tour in 2018, following the retirement of Rangana Herath and suspension of Akila Dhananjaya, but Karunaratne was confident that their replacements can rally around the more experienced Dilruwan Perera.  

“We know we didn’t do well in the last series and they played really well in these conditions. Dilruwan is there and there are a few young bowlers who they have not seen before and they have done well in South Africa, New Zealand and Zimbabwe so they have a really good mindset to play in these conditions. I’m pretty sure the spinners I have will do the job for us,” Karunaratne said. 

 
Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur meanwhile said that the success in the home ODI series against West Indies, where the hosts won all three matches, could have a knock-on effect on how his team approaches their Test cricket as well though it may not be the best approach at all times.   

It is a different team we have brought this time around and we expect the surface to be slightly different
- Root

“That’s certainly how we want to play our cricket and our selections are going to reflect that going forward. Just going back to the Zimbabwe series we played on incredibly flat and slow wickets which did nothing for the game, and it was a war of attrition. We got a lot out of that tour because we had to focus and be disciplined through those two Tests. Our brand of cricket is that we want to take the game forward, but there are times when the session and game requires you to wear the opposition down and that was very much our focus in Zimbabwe because of the conditions,” Arthur said.  

He emphasized that while there was an identity developing in terms of how Sri Lanka approached the game, it would also need to be sustainable in the long run.   
“We want to keep working to make sure our brand is attractive and positive but ultimately it has to be sustainable and lead to positive results. That’s been our focus and that started in Zimabawe,” Arthur added.   

Arthur was also aware of a challenge that the English team would pose.   

“We’re preparing as best possibly that we can prepare. England have played some good competitive cricket of late, albeit in different surfaces. We are preparing as best we can to do our disciplines as best we can and obviously we will analyze in England as any team would and find what we think may be potential weaknesses. But we are very much focused on getting our team spot on our disciplines spot on and working on what we can at the moment,” Arthur said.   

England captain Joe Root oversaw a 3-0 series sweep the last time his team toured Sri Lanka in 2018, but much like the hosts leads a changed squad, particular in the spin bowling department where Adil Rashid and Mooen Ali have not made been selected for this tour.   

“It is a different team we have brought this time around and we expect the surface to be slightly different. We are quite open-minded about what to expect, but ultimately it gives the other guys an opportunity to show what they are capable of,” Root said.  

“We’ve got some young guys who have probably not played much cricket in these conditions before, so these warm up games will be very important for us to make sure we get as much out of them as possible, and take us much of those learnings into those games. But when the guys have played they have generally put their hands up and they’ve put in some strong performances so we are full of confidence and ready to show what they can do out here,” Root added.   

England will begin a four-day warm-up match against the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI at the P. Sara Stadium today.   

The Sri Lanka Board President’s XI will be led by Lahiru Thirimanne.   - (Agencies)

Sri Lanka Board President’s XI: Lahiru Thirimanne – Captain, Pathum Nissanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Perera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Roshen Silva, Minod Bhanuka, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Mohamed Shiraz, Nisala Tharaka, Ashen Bandara, Kavindu Nadeeshan  

England limit fan interaction in Sri Lanka

England players will avoid fan interaction and limit public engagements in Sri Lanka in response to the threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak.

The move, aimed at protecting players and fans alike, comes following advice from the NHS and the World Health Organisation aimed at avoiding possible infection and spreading.
In a statement, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), said: “England players and staff have been asked to avoid any unnecessary public engagements, and temporarily avoid casual supporter interaction such as ‘selfies’ or autographs.

“Whilst we acknowledge that this will be disappointing for some supporters, we stress that this is a measure to protect the ongoing wellbeing of the England Test Squad and is a decision which has not been taken lightly.”

“In addition, England players and staff are also being instructed to avoid shaking hands where a ‘fist pump’ or a personal greeting will suffice. Players will no longer participate in handshakes with each other or the opposition.” 

(Agencies)