A View From the Gully (16 May 1999)

16 May 1999

A View From the Gully

Tawfiq Aziz Khan

The Lankan lions, a rare breed indeed, did not roar at Lord's on Friday, instead they surrendered, rather meekly, to the English lions, their distant cousins till 1948, on English soil.

The World Champions appeared weary, insipid and without any appetite for a fight against their opponents in the opening match of the cricket carnival. The shape of things to come were evident from a lack-lustre opening ceremony in front of a depressing crowed that swelled later as the home team slowly but surely consolidated their position. On a day that truly reflected the proverbial coy and coquettish nature of the English weather Alan Mullally more than backed up his captain by demolishing the top and middle order of the Lankans with his lefty-seamers. He might not be as lethal as Wasim Akram but was as brilliant and effective. Stewart's decision to field on a hard and bouncy wicket on a cloudy day was probably prompted by the fact that he had five seamers who could make best use of the wicket first and also be in an advantageous position had their be rain interruptions and refixing of targets letter on. In either case he was proven justified.

The opening pair of Sri Lanka said it all. They were not going for pinch hitting instead they would approach the bowling on its merit. Jayasuriya was groping for the ball as he looked like a shadow of his past. He was tormented by a luckless Darren Gough who should have accounted for the out of form Jayasuriya. Mahanama ended his misery by an 'agricultural' shot and Atapattu and De Silva left after catch practice. Jayasuriya's painstaking 29 in 52 deliveries clearly indicated that he was no longer the same player.

The repair work was left to little Kaluwitharana and skipper Ranatunga. The dimunitive wicket-keeper took the English attack by the sword and his copybook strokeplay was a real treat for the weary eyes after a long lapse of time. His brilliant knock, which could be called 'Kalu-Ki-Tarana' (Song of Kalu), ended abruptly as he grew impatient.

The modest Lanka total was no problem for the Englishmen who went about the whole business with professional dexterity. Their approach to the problems were circumspect. Once again the weakness of the Lankan attack was brought to the fore by Stewart and inform batmans Grame Hick.

The English captain who was on a run-drought this year produced a patient innings brilliantly supported by the tall Hick. In experienced Upashanta behaved like a 'ashanta '(restless) boy and Jayasuriya came for a bit of a stick. England were a superior team on Friday and the champions should give them all credit for their victory.

Source :: The Daily Star