Career best from Jayawardena sinks England

Strauss under pressure as England consolidate at Lord’s

End of day four, Lord’s

England 149-2 and 486 lead Sri Lanka 479 by 156 runs with eight second innings wickets remaining

Oh the fickle flicks of the poison pen that points itself squarely at Andrew Strauss this evening. Two days ago it was Kevin Pietersen under scrutiny. One scratchy half-session later, he’s not the story any more. Instead it’s Strauss, for whom there is nothing like a pair of failures to crystallise a slump that has been looming for 18 months or so.

Let’s cut to it. In the 17 Tests since the start of the South Africa tour in December 2009 Strauss averages 32 with the bat, with a solitary hundred, in Brisbane. In that period the two LBWs to Welegedera mean he’s been dismissed 10 times by a left-arm seamer, nine in the last calendar year, five times in single figures. Sure, Mohammad Amir is talented, but there is a problem there. Strauss is struggling to locate his off-stump, the trigger movements so effective to right-arm bowlers negated by the angle, leaving him stuck on the crease. The worry for England is that the best left-armer in the world is arriving in a month or so. Oh, and they have history – Zaheer Khan already has Strauss’s wicket five times in Test cricket.

Fortunately for England, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott have some serious man-love going. In Trott’s 18 Tests they’ve managed over 1300 runs batting together, at an average of over 75. Today they bettered that, putting on 117 to calm the nerves of the 12 hardy souls in Lord’s after a testing period against the new ball. Trott was an unlikely aggressor, racing to 50 in 66 balls, the majority of his fours timed sweetly off his pads. Maybe it was his freedom that undid him, as Herath curled one up and down and under Trott as he looked to turn again.

Trott had looked so untroubled that it could be interpreted as a selfless act towards Kevin Pietersen – giving him the chance to face his demon head on. Pietersen’s first two defensive prods were cheered ironically by the crowd, and for a while it seemed to be the final straw as skittish shot followed aborted charge. Soon though he settled on a formula – if you can’t beat them, decapitate them – as one thumping straight drive seemed to settle the nerves a little, and the Pietersen who walked in at close looked a different man. It may be to his and England’s advantage if he can convince himself that his form-slump is based mainly around a mental block against slow left-armers, for there is little to boost confidence like feeling one has beaten a problem, and this problem should be trivial. At least for KP the issue is predominantly mental, not technical like in Strauss’s case.

Earlier the standout feature of England’s improved fielding display had been their catching, with Strauss and Graeme Swann holding sharp chances in the slips. Heck, even Cook caught one. It’s a reminder that good catching is the difference between a decent side and a very good one, especially when the bowling isn’t quite working. Steve Finn scabbed four wickets in the end, jaffas gleaming in the mud, as he overtook Ian Botham as the youngest England bowler to 50 Test wickets. England have a decision to make with Finn – he will take wickets but at this stage in his development they will also cost runs, and can they accommodate that in a four-man attack? With Jimmy Anderson back there is also a call to make on Stuart Broad, who has conceded a 100 runs before taking a wicket in both Tests so far.

As far as a result goes tomorrow, you wouldn’t bet on it, but then, after Cardiff, you wouldn’t bet against it either. England must be favourites for any result because of a potentially more incisive bowling attack, but that shouldn’t come into it on a flattish deck, especially when at 1-0 up with one to play it’s not in England’s interests to try and force a result. Watch this space.

Sam Collins is 50% of The Chuck Fleetwood-Smiths

Always the bridesmaid….?

Six months ago Kumar Sangakkara raised his concerns about the future of Sri Lankan test cricket in a post match interview.  It was a plea for change, an attempt to make those in control sit up and realise how poorly Sri Lanka continue to be treated in the test arena. Looking back on 2010, it is difficult to disagree with him. In a year where India played 14 test matches, England the same,  Australia 12 and South Africa 11 –  sharing most of the ICC calendar and dominating media headlines between them  – Sri Lanka played a grand total of six tests; all of them in Sri Lanka.  Sangakkara’s lifelong aim will be to get Sri Lanka to the top of the test rankings but it seems increasingly likely that this will forever remain just a dream.

The ICC Test rankings were roundly derided when, in August 2009, Sri Lanka occupied the number two spot behind South Africa, following the toppling of Australia. How could a team of perceived flat track bullies who play for their averages on dead home pitches justify this lofty place in the rankings? A team that has only ever won three test series outside of the subcontinent, including two against Zimbabwe?

Therein lies the problem. Sri Lanka have constantly been denied the exposure their undoubted talent deserves. Australia have not toured Sri Lanka since 2004, have played just ten test matches there since Sri Lanka’s admission into test cricket in 1981 and are not scheduled to return in the foreseeable future. In fact the last time Sri Lanka played a test match outside of the subcontinent was very nearly three years ago during a short three match tour to the West Indies.

This is no way for a fully fledged and competitive test nation to be handled.

The truth of the matter is that Sri Lanka are unofficially a second tier test nation. Good enough to play test cricket? Yes. Rich enough as a cricket board or popular enough as a team to make regular test series away from home financially viable for the hosts? No.  Sri Lanka are scheduled to tour England this May, but press attention and ticket advertising is already heavily geared towards the arrival of the Indians in the height of the English summer. Obviously the Future Tours Programme means that no test nation is completely abandoned but the gulf is quickly widening between the top four and the rest. And Sri Lanka are among the rest.

Effectively cast aside, Sri Lanka signed an agreement with India in 2008 – Sri Lanka’s players were made available for the whole IPL and in return India became regular opponents in One Day cricket for 2 years. Sadly, putting the team on a limited overs diet became a necessity in the search for desperately needed income.

Another issue is Sri Lankan wickets which are generally seen as overly batsman friendly. Test matches over the last two or three years, in particular, have followed the trend of 650 plays 700 in the first innings with the draw certain by end of the first day. These wickets make any idea of a genuine cricket contest redundant but succeed in securing broadcasting, sponsorship and at least some ticket revenues for five days. Games that finish in three days may be exciting and competitive  but mean two days lost revenue. In a sport where money plays a role like never before, wickets that guarantee five days play will always be favoured, whatever the cost to entertainment. And draws alone will not be enough for Sri Lanka to climb the rankings.

The implications for Sri Lanka’s players cannot be ignored either. By effectively restricting Sri Lanka to the subcontinent, the careers and reputations of the likes of Mahela Jayawardene are being tainted. One of the finest, most elegant batsmen in the world, Jayawardene is already tagged by some as a hometown bully who inflates his average on dead wickets, in particular at the SSC. 67 of his 116 tests to date have been played in Sri Lanka, and it is in his home country that he has struck 19 of his 28 test centuries. For Jayawardene to prove he is a world class batsman, he must score heavily in Australia, England, South Africa etc. However, the lack of overseas opportunities creates a vicious circle as Jayawardene has not had experience of English conditions since 2007. Should he then get a few low scores on the tour in May, people will question his ability.

Sri Lanka are struggling to receive the recognition they deserve. A side with some of the most gifted batsmen and bowlers in the world are constantly denied the chance to display their talents and flair. This is a two way issue as well – Sri Lanka are being denied but so are the spectators of other countries, unable to see Kumar Sangakkara in his prime. Sri Lanka’s captain has the ability to become statistically and aesthetically one of the greatest ever. However, for as long as he and his team are left with the scraps, the opportunity to be officially recognised as the best in the world will always be out of reach.

Perfect Sri Lanka bowling sweeps Windies away in World T20 semi

Sri Lanka crushed the West Indies by 57 runs in the ICC World T20 semi-final – and now face Pakistan in the final on Sunday.

The victory came on the back of another mighty innings from Tillekeratne Dilshan – tonight he batted through the 20 overs for 96 off 57 balls – and a sensational first over from the apparently innocuous medium-pacer Angelo Mathews (3/16).

With the Sirils defending a total of just 158/5, skipper Kumar Sangakkara’s throwing the ball to Mathews to kick-off the West Indies innings proved to be an inspired hunch.

Mathews’ first over saw three wickets fall – all bowled, all played on – to leave West Indies 1/3, with Xavier Marshall, Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Bravo all back on the bench without scoring. The dismissals suggested that the pitch, unusually for the Oval, lacked pace and left batsmen confused about the best way to attack the ball, which was not coming onto the bat.

Chris Gayle (63 off 50) batted through to the end, unbeaten, but received no support at all. No-one else hit more than Denesh Ramdin’s nine runs and though Shiv Chanderpaul stuck around for half an hour, his 7 from 15 balls – filled with pre-meditated (and generally failed) trick shots – did little to advance the cause.

With the innings already in disarray, Ajantha Mendis (2/9 off four overs) and Murali (3/29) applied the killer blows, mid-innings. The Sri Lankan attack is the most varied in the tournament, but the West Indies did not help themselves with their shot selection; their inability to get Gayle, their No 1 danger man, on strike was a major failing. Instead, he waited at the non-strikers end while a procession of batsmen came and went, going for glory trying to hit sixes themselves.

Dilshan had also fought a lone battle in the Sirils’ innings, though he had help early on from Sanath Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya’s 24 off 37 balls was, though, a very a typical innings from the Sirils’ veteran, who is 40 next week. Visibly frustrated with his inability to time the ball, he changed his bat several times before holing out in the 11th over and leaving Dilshan to carry the innings.

No-one else scored more than Angelo Mathews’ 12 runs, hit off four balls at the death.

Dilshan’s innings included 12 fours and two sixes and left him just short of completing the second-ever international T20 century. It was another versatile display from the tournament’s leading run-scorer, full of sweet timing, clever placement and ever-adaptable stroke play including his now trademark flip over the keeper’s head, this time off a Jerome Taylor slower ball.

Dilshan’s innings earned him the man of the match award – though the killer blows really came from Sri Lanka’s bowlers, and that remarkable first over from Mathews, in particular.