Rex Clementine in Johannesburg
Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake is confident that exciting times are ahead for country’s fast bowlers and it will be just a matter of time before that 19-year-old Lahiru Kumara will hit 150kmph.
Kumara played the second Test in Cape Town and took six wickets in the first innings to become the second Sri Lankan teenager to pick up a five wicket haul or more in an innings.
From hockey to fast bowling, Lahiru Kumara’s impressive rise
Not many fast bowlers have played for Sri Lanka at the age of 19. For that matter, not many cricketers have walked straight into the national team after school cricket.
“He was identified at the age of 15. He has done really well at the under-19 level. He always had the pace, but he was a bit short and wild. Young fast bowlers tend to be like that through that period. But then we worked with him on hitting that length, things have fallen in line. He had the natural ability to bowl good inswingers. He’s bowling 140 kmph plus. He’ll bowl 150 very soon. He’s just 19 plus and he’s learning. To get six wickets here against one of the best teams was great. He bowled some brilliant balls. If he can get more consistency with that length, he can be a very good bowler,” Ramanayake said.
The prospect of someone hitting 150kmph in Test cricket will be exciting for Sri Lankan fans. If and when that eventually happens, oppositions too would be cautious in preparing green tracks when Sri Lanka travel overseas as there’s the danger of that ploy backfiring.
A combination of factors has helped Lakmal improve his game
There are just a few positives for the Sri Lankans in the ongoing Test series in South Africa after repeated batting collapses.
“Lahiru has to maintain and build up his fitness. He has raw pace. The important thing is consistently hitting the length, the pace will come. The pace has come from genetics, so he’s always had that. But if he keeps improving general fitness, strengthening and conditioning work, he will get there,” Ramanayake added.
Another fast bowler – Dushmantha Chameera too was clocked at impressive speeds but injury unfortunately sidelined him for most part of 2014. He played the Boxing Day Test in Port Elizabeth, but struggled with his line and length.
“He’s ok actually. He had a stress fracture and after a stress fracture you are always not sure about giving 100%. He was one of our best bowlers before he got injured, and he’ll come back definitely. We have two bowlers who can bowl at 145kmph-plus, any side will be very happy with that. A little bit more bowling will help him,” Ramanayake further said.
Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers have done well in the series so far. Suranga Lakmal has been outstanding having taken 12 wickets after two Tests.
Lahiru Kumara says he can clock up more speed
On a disastrous day for the Sri Lankan cricket team, where they were shot out for 110 in the first innings in reply to South Africa’s 392 all out in the second Test in Cape Town, there was only one positive.
Ramanayake, however, expected the bowlers to work on their consistency throughout the innings. “Sometimes consistency-wise they are not there 100%, but overall I’m happy. After we take the top five wickets the opposition always have a bit of a partnership. We’re not consistent in patches there, but overall I’m very happy. Suranga Lakmal is bowling brilliantly. Nuwan Pradeep bowled well though he didn’t get wickets. Young Lahiru Kumara is a very exciting talent.”
Ramanayake believed that lack of experience for his bowlers playing in South Africa before is a handicap but expected them to learn with experience in the future.
“When there’s a lot of grass on the wicket, you don’t have to think much – you just have to hit the length consistently. That’s what we’ve been advising them – to hit that length because the ball will do the rest. Sometimes we were a bit inconsistent in patches, but you can see that they also haven’t played on wickets like these. When you get grass you don’t know really which length to bowl. We had plans to the left-handers where we were talking about not giving much width. But overall when you get grass you just have to switch on the basics.”
