Kenya given opportunity to press for Test status in Sri Lanka

Kenya, keen to attain full Test status, have an opportunity to put forward their case for full membership status of the ICC when they start a series of three four-day unofficial Test matches against Sri Lanka A on Thursday at P.Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo.

"The boys are aware of what is expected of them. We'll try and take it session by session," said Kenyan manager Harilal Shah, captain of East Africa in the inaugural World Cup in England in 1975.

In their solitary two-day warm up game against a Development Squad, Kenya's openers Kennedy Otieno and Ravindu Shah compiled a worthy partnership of 106, but the rest of the batting managed only 128 runs, which according to their Indian coach Sandeep Patil, was not the type of batting Kenya were capable of.

Kenya's transformation, from a good one-day team to one that can hold its own in a four-day game, won't be easy unless they have a strong domestic cricket structure.

After nearly two decades, Sri Lanka's domestic cricket structure is not what it should be. They can count themselves lucky that despite the poor standard of cricket that is dished out in the Premier competition they are still able to produce players of quality.

But the gap is widening, with many players finding it difficult to bridge the gap between Premier competition and Test cricket. Those who will represent Sri Lanka A in the upcoming series belong to that category.

Sri Lanka A coach Roshan Mahanama has a tough task of helping these players make the grade. Many of them have played for their country at the highest level, but have been unable to retain their places due to lack of consistency.

A clear example is middle-order batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan who made a great start to his Test career when only in his second Test he scored a scintillating 163 not out to pave the way for a series clinching win over Zimbabwe at Harare two years ago. Today he is no nearer to a permanent place in the Test squad.

To be fair, his role in the side has not always been clearly defined. He has played as both a middle order batsman and as a wicket-keeper/batsman. In the present series he will play purely as a batsman.

Another player who has got a raw deal from the selectors has been wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene who after just one rain-affected Test against Pakistan at Kandy last year, where he neither batted nor fielded, has continued to be overlooked.

Avishka Gunawardana, Michael Vandort, Chamara Silva, skipper Upul Chandana, Ruchira Perera and Rangana Herath are all players who have been tested, tried and discarded over the years.

There is also the young crop waiting to earn recognition like Ian Daniel, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Kaushalya Weeraratne and Prabath Nissanka.

"I've told the players to make use of this opportunity and to play with a purpose. If they perform well they stand a chance of being picked for the tours ahead to England, South Africa and Australia," said Mahanama.

"This series is very important to the players because tours of this nature are not regular. So whatever comes along they must grab it with both hands and perform," he said.

"Although the players must perform they must also play to win. There is no way they can play as individuals which can lead to negative cricket," Mahanama said.

Mahanama said this series gave a good scope for fast bowlers because of the tours that are ahead.

"Sri Lanka may take as many as 17 players on the tour to England and extra batsmen and bowlers are needed for a lengthy tour," said Mahanama.

He hoped that decent pitches would be provided for all the matches, giving equal opportunities to both batsmen and bowlers.

SRI LANKA A (from):

Upul Chandana (captain), Ian Daniel, Avishka Gunawardane, Michael Vandort, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Prasanna Jayawardene, Ruchira Perera, Rangana Herath, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Prabath Nissanka.

KENYA:

Maurice Odumbe (captain), Kennedy Otieno, Ravindu Shah, Steve Tikolo, Hitesh Modi, Thomas Odoyo, Tony Suji, Collins Obuya, Martin Suji, Mohamed Sheikh, Lameck Onyango.

UMPIRES: Tyronne Wijewardene and Ranmore Martinesz, Match Referee: Ranjith Madurasinghe.