For several years Rangana Herath played a distant second fiddle to Muttiah Muralidaran, but when the great finally called it a day in 2009, Herath grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
He was in a class of his own and like Murali, Herath anchored the spinning department single-handedly leading Sri Lanka to several victories at home and away including the famous win against South Africa in Durban in 2011.
But, with Herath nearing his age of retirement, Sri Lanka’s struggle to find his successor went bizarre with Sachithra Senanayake making an obvious mockery of his selection to the test side. On Tuesday (December 31) he was handed a test debut, when his performance in the preceding ODI series warrants nothing but an early plane home as he was dealt harshly by the Pakistani batsmen.
His failure to grab a single wicket after conceding 239 runs in his 49 overs did little to enhance his reputation as a frontline spinner and proved in abundance that how ineffective Senanayake can be in conditions that does not suit his type of bowling.
“It baffles me how he (Senanayake) earned a test debut here,” said one analyst who had watched Senanayake’s struggle with disappointment. To be fair it was a lifeless wicket, a wicket where world’s top spinners in Saeed Ajmal and Rangana Herath could vent their venom like they do most often. Ajmal surprisingly bowled 49 overs in the second innings conceding 115 runs, the first time, the off-spinner had never taken a wicket in the second innings, having bowled over 17 overs.
If his performance in the five-match ODI series was shocking, his performances in the test was atrocious to say the least as experts suggest that Sri Lanka had taken a huge gamble by playing an extra –spinner ahead of a third seamer for the series opener.
“The pitch is no way going to help his type of bowling which is why Pakistan dropped Abdur Rehman. Besides, Senanayake is no exceptional talent, whose strength has been to contain batsmen with tough line and length. A bowler like that can get wickets in limited overs but not in test cricket. You need to have variation, generate spin and bounce, which I do not see as attributes of Senanayake,” he added.
“Dilruwan Perera may have been a better option, but I believe a third seamer would have helped Sri Lanka better here,” he asserted.
It may not be fair to write a eulogy of a cricketer who has just broken into test cricket as he may be effective on responsive pitches as his first class record suggests, but his performance here is a clear indication that he has a tough path ahead to prove himself to be the country’s next spinner in waiting. Senanayake has taken 358 wickets in 68 first class matches with an impressive average of 19.90, statistic which may have pondered selectors to try him out in the longer version.
His mediocre performances against batsmen renowned for their ability facing spinners clearly indicate that Sri Lanka’s spin bowling needs serious thought before Herath exits.
Pakistan amassed 66 runs in 18 overs at a strike rate of 3.66 against Senanayake, the highest among the Sri Lanka bowlers. He remained wicket-less before conceding 30 runs in his five over spell in the second innings. It indicates that the six-footer is far from reaching the standard required at the highest level of the game, leave along stepping in as a possible successor to the aging Herath, the man who anchored the spin bowling since the retirement of world record holder Muttiah Muralidaran back in 2011.
The issue is however not Senanayake’s selection, but the circumstances that led for the selection of Senanayake. A country that produces nothing but spin-friendly surfaces and relies heavily on spinners even at domestic level for success, a deep soul-searching is of paramount importance to indentify the reasons that has led for the dearth of quality spinners.
Suraj Randiv once played second fiddle to Rangana Herath, so was mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis but except for those odd sparks, none has grabbed the opportunity.
“This is a big problem than what appeared on the surface. I do not think we are short of talent, but definitely we have not properly managed the pool of talent we have. Look at what happened to Akila Dhananjaya, a teenager who played a World Cup because some people thought he was good but completely left him in the lurch. Randiv is not heard of now and Mendis is hardly an option. Had they been properly managed, I think we were in a better position today,” he said.
Young Tharindu Kaushal has been ear-marked and seems an exciting prospect but the former U-19 player needs exposure at domestic and Sri Lanka A level before being thrown into the deep end.
While an enhanced commitment by the players is expected, the game’s keepers should come forward with a plan to arrest dropping standard, not only in spin bowling, but in all other departments in order to preserve Sri Lanka’s cricketing identity. The remarkable fight in Abu Dhabi will put the administrators into their comfort zone, but the underlying issues remain intact despite a miraculous draw.
Mathews defended debutant off spinner Sachithra Senanayake who could not make a breakthrough, at the post-match press conference.
“We all know Sachithra is a good spinner. Playing in his first Test it was not easy playing on a pitch like this.’ Mathews said
Pakistan amassed 66 runs in 18 overs at a strike rate of 3.66 against Senanayake, the highest among the Sri Lanka bowlers and remained wicket-less before conceding 30 runs in his five over spell in the second innings, indicating that the six-footer is far from reaching the standard required at the highest level of the game, leave along stepping in as a possible successor to aging Herath, the man who anchored the spin bowling since the retirement of world record holder Muttiah Muralidaran back in 2011.
Reported by Champika Fernando in Abu Dhabii
