Sri Lanka and England in a quandary over starting line-ups
A three-match one-day series after such a compelling Test series is unlikely to whet the palates of the purists
Charlie Austin
22-Mar-2001
A three-match one-day series after such a compelling Test series is
unlikely to whet the palates of the purists. Sri Lanka on the other hand
have always valued the limited overs version of the game and are desperate
to make amends for their numbing defeat at the Sinhalese Sports Club last
weekend.
Despite comments to the contrary, one suspects that England's players are
envious of Nasser Hussain who will have his feet up in front of the telly
tomorrow. This has been an extremely arduous tour and according to acting
captain Graham Thorpe: "The players are going to have to dig really deep
to win."
Top Stewart and Trescothick, bottom - Hick and Thorpe Photo CricInfo |
But whether players like the idea of a one-day series tacked on to the end of
a tour or not, they know that money makes the cricket world go round and
one-day cricket is the golden egg. Indeed, so valuable is the pull of
coloured clothing and white balls that the players will play tomorrow in a
freshly constructed stadium, ostensibly built to safeguard television
revenues against the vagaries of the Sri Lankan weather.
Six months ago the 65 acres on which the Rangiri International Stadium now
sits was jungle, a refuge for chuckling baboons and best accessed across
the mud-coloured lake. Since then, land has been transformed by an
estimated 1,000 construction workers labouring night and day.
The playing surface and pitch is now ready and most of the construction is
now complete, but on the eve of the first One-Day International, the scene
is chaotic: fridges, televisions and desks lie outside the main door, the
rickety scaffolding still hugs the main stand, paintwork is wet and the
sound of drilling is as omnipresent as that of a hooting trishaw in
Colombo.
Graham Thorpe was clearly surprised by the amount of work to do, but
remained diplomatic: "The playing surface looks fine and that is what is
most important as far as the players are concerned." Before adding wryly:
"As far as the surroundings are concerned, I am sure that they will look
great when they are done."
He is right of course, if the playing surface is fine, then no one will be
bothered about the aesthetics. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that the
grass-less pitch will be fine. There has only been one match played on the
square ever and that was a 25-over slog between two teams of aging Sri
Lankan stars.
The players who took part in that match two weeks ago admit that the
surface was not ideal and was two paced. They fear that the wicket may not
last the distance. Thus, despite the fact that the wicket is bone dry and
grass-less, both sides are unsure as to the best combination to play.
England have already decided on their top order (Stewart, Trescothick, Hick
and Thorpe), but are pondering what to do about the middle order and the
spin department. Thorpe hinted at the management's thinking when he
said today: "The one worrying aspect of the warm-up match was the last
third of the batting and that is one area where I think we have to get a
little more out of."
This suggests that they want to bolster the middle order and this means
that they have to have a reliable batsman at number seven. If Mark Ealham
were to play then it would have to be in place of a spinner or fast bowler
and that is unlikely. Although Craig White's bowling might prove more
expensive he should play and bat number seven.
Kaluwitharana - recall Photo CricInfo |
Michael Vaughan, his case strengthened by his useful off breaks, may yet
slip into the side after his 97 yesterday. It is even conceivable, though
unlikely, that he could replace one of the main spinners. Alternatively he
could slip in ahead of Nick Knight or Andrew Flintoff, who will not yet
have fully acclimatised.
Sri Lanka are set to play seven batsmen with Indika de Saram likely to play
ahead of Tillakaratne Dilshan who disappointed in the Test Matches after
two centuries in England's warm-up games. Romesh Kaluwitharana returns to
renew his explosive opening partnership with Sanath Jayasuriya.
Sri Lanka's two spinners will be Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Dharmasena
with Nuwan Zoysa and Chaminda Vaas taking the new ball. Jayasuriya and
Arnold will fill in the remaining ten overs.