Ian Daniel - ready and waiting for debut

Ian Daniel knows that it is only a matter of time before he will be donning the dark blue Sri Lanka cap for his country. "I have the confidence to say that I think I am good enough to represent my country," said Daniel, a 23-year-old opener who was one of five players picked to make up the Test squad for the upcoming series in Pakistan.

"I think I have done enough to deserve a place in the national side. But if I don't get my Test cap in Pakistan I will not be disappointed, I will just keep on trying harder. I have been in the national squad twice and come quite close to getting there. Someday I will get a chance if I keep performing," he said.

Daniel's confidence is borne from playing for the Sri Lanka A team in the past four years, during which time he has progressed rapidly to be picked as the third opener to the established pair Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu for three Test series. Previously he was named in the Test squad for the series in Zimbabwe and then for the home series against South Africa that followed.

Daniels' credentials for his inclusion are impressive. Since scoring his maiden first-class fifty for Sri Lanka A against the touring Zimbabweans four years ago, he has been a model of consistency with A sides. His maiden tour abroad to South Africa last October, where he failed to make any worthwhile contributions, made him change his approach to his game.

"I thought to myself that you need to do well to hang around at this level. You've got to plan and work things out. Self motivation became one of the key factors of my batting improvements," said Daniel. "I was aggressive at school. Then I became a defensive player because many thought that I was good enough only for Tests. But later I thought to myself I've come this far because I had been an attacking player. So I recapped and thought that I was going to be a bit more aggressive and positive," he said. It brought a fresh change to his game and on the tour to India Daniel scored his first century at international level when he made 111 in the second unofficial Test. This was followed by a tour to New Zealand where he really blossomed out into an opener of quality. On the seaming pitches, Daniel made over 300 runs in six innings scoring 96 in a warm-up game and following it up with 124 and 66 in the second unofficial Test and 60 in the third.

"I thought I am the key man in the side and took some of the responsibility. When things go right everything becomes easy. That is the time you've got to control yourself. If the ball is there to be hit I will go after it, but I will be cautious as well," said Daniel.

"When I go out to bat I look at occupying the crease as long as possible. If anyone says anything to disturb my concentration I don't mind. I have played enough first-class cricket to become mentally tough enough to overcome that sort of situation in the middle," he said.

Daniel owes a lot of his success to former A team coach Hemantha Devapriya and his uncle Joe Saverimuttupulle, who played Division One cricket for NCC. "Hemantha has been the key factor. He has been there with the A team for a long time with me. He told me to be aggressive. My uncle, Joe Saverimuttupulle, has also seen me for a long time since my schooldays at St. Joseph's College and he also gave me the same advice to be aggressive," he said.

The coaching methods of Stan Nell, the present A team coach, have also influenced Daniel's approach to the game. "The mental attitudes and outlooks of Australian coaches like Nell and John Dyson (the senior team coach) are different. They are very aggressive and they try to dominate. They try to do better than the others and minimise their mistakes. I have also changed my approach to the game on those lines," said Daniel.

Daniel recalled how Nell's aggressive methods helped the A team win all their one-day matches in England. "His main goal was to win all the matches and winning is not easy. He asked the top five batsmen to score at five runs an over even if we were five down for 20. That approach changed the whole scenario. You have to be aggressive in all three departments to succeed," he said.

Daniel's career suffered a setback four years ago when he lost his father Patrick Daniel, a fast bowler of repute who represented Holy Cross College in Kalutara and Kalutara SC. He meant the world to Daniel and it took him the best part of a year to recover from the loss and return to lead a normal life.

"My father's dream was to see me play for my country. When I started playing cricket it was also my goal. So I thought to myself if these ambitions are to be fulfilled I must pull myself together and continue playing cricket. I started to train hard and built up my confidence to achieve my goal," recalled Daniel.

A banking assistant at Seylan Bank, he lives with his mother but draws inspiration by watching videos of Marvan Atapatu and Rahul Dravid - two players he has modelled his technique on. He reads books especially one's dealing with the mental aspect of the game. He is really taken up by Dr. Rudi Webster's book which helped the national team win the 1996 World Cup.

Daniel also has a secret wish to run his own business. "My father was a refrigeration engineer. He had his own business and his own equipment. If I have any second thoughts I might follow him," said Daniel. But for the time being he is focused on his first Test cap - the wait will not be long now.