With only a few days to go for the first Test match between Sri Lanka and South Africa, which starts on Boxing Day in Centurion, Sri Lanka’s Head Coach Mickey Arthur is confident about the depth in their ranks to take on the Proteas in their own backyard.
Having not played any International Cricket for more than nine months, the Lankans will be one of the last Test playing nations to return to the field in the COVID-19 era. Only Bangladesh and Afghanistan have not yet played International Cricket following the global pandemic, which saw plenty of sporting events cancelled or postponed.
>>Sri Lanka v South Africa 2020/21<<
Sri Lanka last played Test Cricket way back in January against Zimbabwe and won the two-match series, 1-0. However, for Dimuth Karunaratne-led Sri Lanka, the more fonder memories in the African continent would be from last year when they defeated the Proteas 2-0, becoming the first South Asian country to win a Test series in South Africa.
Sri Lanka were bruised and battered in Australia before going to South Africa last year. This time around, they’ll be playing in two of the fastest pitches in the world, Centurion and Johannesburg, after playing a T20 league (Lanka Premier League) back at home. Therefore, the visitors will have very short time to switch their mindset from T20s to Tests. They started their training today (21st) in three groups.
“It’s not ideal [preparation],” Arthur said in a virtual press conference from South Africa. “We’ve trained today on the ground and we were in the nets today. It was a normal training day today, albeit in groups of seven. But I split those groups of seven very equally. We only train as a full squad together on 23rd, 24th and 25th. We’ll use this preparation as best we possibly can. Before the Lanka Premier League, we went to Pallekele two weeks before it started. The one thing that LPL did was that it allowed players to play competitive Cricket, which is always a good thing.”
There were serious doubts regarding the bio-secure bubble created by Cricket South Africa (CSA) in the wake of the ODI series cancellation between South Africa and England earlier this month, due to the higher number of COVID-19 positive cases within the bubble. However Arthur along with a Health Specialist, Dr. Daminda Attanayake, both of who travelled to South Africa a week earlier, were satisfied with the arrangements that have been put in place for the upcoming series.
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“The bubble here is very good. It is as good a bubble as you could possibly have. Myself and the doctor came early to make sure all the arrangements were in place. We’re very comfortable at the moment that the arrangements here are really good. Like I say, it is the new normal but we’re being very well looked after. The security around us is particularly tight, we get tested every third day. It’s different, Cricket touring is certainly different but we’re very comfortable and happy with the arrangements that CSA have put in place at the moment,” Arthur further stated.
With a few injuries to key players in the batting department – experienced middle-order batsman Angelo Mathews (hamstring) and opening batsman Oshada Fernando (ankle), Sri Lanka’s depth will be tested by the Proteas’ bowling attack on helpful pitches. Mathews did not travel to South Africa, while Fernando is with the squad but has been ruled out of the first Test.
There is a school of thought to unleash hard-hitting left-hander Kusal Perera as an opening batsman and play experienced batsman Lahiru Thirimanne in the middle order. They could play contrasting roles by switching positions to allow Perera bat in the middle and Thirimanne to partner up with Skipper Karunaratne at the top, just like the last time around.
Perera starred for the Lions at the middle order, smashing a whirlwind, remarkable 153* to win the Durban Test match. In their 21-member squad, there are two fast bowling all-rounders, uncapped Santhush Gunathilaka and Dasun Shanaka, who could also fill in to do the job in the middle order if Perera is pushed to the opening slot.
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“If we look at the side that played our last Test match, which was against Zimbabwe, we lost Oshada Fernando who is not going to be fit for this first Test match,” Arthur pointed out. “And we’ve obviously lost Angelo. I do have a top-six in mind. Whether we take the aggressive route and play the five bowlers with five batsmen and a wicket-keeper, that’s an option we have. The other option is to play six batsmen with one that gives us a little bit of a seam option, a keeper at 7 and then the three quicks and a spinner. We do have options. It’s all in the melting pot, and we’ll make a decision on that in the next day or two.”
After the conclusion of the second Test in Johannesburg, the Lankans will return home to play England in a week’s time in a two-match series in Galle. Therefore the next few days will be vital for the Lankan squad to acclimatize to the conditions, switch back into Test mode and put up a strong performance in the rainbow nation to build up confidence.
“Every series for us is extremely important,” Arthur said. “Because where we are in the process with this team, we want to just keep better and we want to create consistency around selections and roles. The one thing that I do know which is very important is that if you play well and you get some wins along the line, irrespective of conditions you take confidence. And confidence and belief is very powerful within a playing group. So if we can take that confidence and belief into the England series, it’ll be amazing for us. But this SA series for us is massive. Last time SL was here, they won. In that series, Sri Lanka became the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa and we would love to be able to replicate that.”
Photos – Sri Lanka v South Africa 2020
