The Caribbean flavour is in town. The West Indies ‘A’ team is in the beautiful island of Sri Lanka to play 3 unofficial Test matches and 3 one-day matches against the second-string team of the host country. The specialty of this particular tour is that all 6 matches will be played in 6 different cities across the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’.
The ‘A’ team tours are extremely important to any country as that is the stage where budding new and talented players are groomed to represent their national teams or to help the out-of-form players to regain form. In a recent exclusive interview with www.thepapare.com, Sri Lanka ‘A’ Coach Romesh Kaluwitharana mentioned the importance of the national ‘A’ team. “My job is to provide a strong set of players who are able to play an international match for the country whenever needed.”
The Master Blaster of yesteryear, Sir Vivian Richards is in the tour party as the technical head of the West Indies ‘A’ team and he emphasized the importance of this tour with the ICC World Cup coming up in few months, “Especially with the world cup around the corner to work with these individuals led by Carlos, who is a magnificent leader. This a multi-talented team, with individuals who are looking to make that next step and some who have been there before.”
The tour starts with an unofficial Test match at the breezy ground in Hambanthota where the seamers will enjoy more assistance from the surface. Competitive cricket returns to Uyanwatta Stadium in Matara after 18 months for the 2nd unofficial Test match. One of the oldest grounds in Sri Lanka, Tyronne Fernando Stadium in Moratuwa will host the 3rd Unofficial Test and the cricket enthusiasts will fill up the grounds definitely for the final two Test matches.
One-day series of 3 matches will start in the historical city of Dambulla and both teams will the head to Kurunegala for the 2nd game and finally will reach the capital, Colombo for the last one-day game. With less rest days in the schedule, both the visitors and the hosts will have to cope-up with the travelling fatigue apart of the cricket.
The Lankan national selectors have named a heavy-duty squad of 15 players for the 1st unofficial Test. Sri Lanka’s next series will be against England in November, which will only be ODI affairs and with that thought in mind, they have included seven Test players and two other players who have represented Sri Lanka in ODIs in the ‘A’ squad. Middle-order batsman Jehan Mubarak has also been recalled after a successful club season where he accumulated over 1000 runs.
Among the uncapped players in the squad, Left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando and off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal will be the cynosure of the selectors and fans as they are highly regarded to make the national squad in the near future. Fernando toured with the Sri Lanka ‘A’ squad for the England and Ireland tour recently and as per his mentor Chaminda Vaas, he is able to clock over 140KMPH regularly. 21-year old off-spinner from NCC, Tharindu Kaushal claimed 43 wickets in the 2013/14 Premier League Tournament and he has the ability and skill level to be a match-winner for Sri Lanka in the coming years.
The big names in the touring party are the spin trio of Shane Shilingford, Nikita Miller and Devendra Bishoo. All three spinners have represented West Indies in the highest level and they will be itching to put up few notable performances to earn a recall. The Windies batting will rely heavily on experienced, Kirk Edwards, Kraigg Braithwaite and Andre Fletcher to score the runs on turning Lankan surfaces.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ squad for the 1st four-day match:
Upul Tharanga (captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Ashan Priyanjan, Jehan Mubarak, Niroshan Dickwella, Seekkuge Prasanna, Shaminda Eranga, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage, Madawa Warnapura, Rumesh Buddika, Tharindu Kaushal, Kasun Madushanka
West Indies ‘A’ squad
Carlos Brathwaite (captain), Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell, Miguel Cummins, Kirk Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Assad Fudadin, Shannon Gabriel, Nikita Miller, Shane Shillingford, Chadwick Walton
The Tour schedule:
1st unofficial Test – 11th – 14th October at Hambanthota.
2nd unofficial Test – 18th- 21st October at Matara.
3rd unofficial Test – 25th – 28th October at Moratuwa
1st one-dayer – 1st November – Dambulla
2nd one-dayer – 3rd November – Kurunegala
3rd one-dayer – 5th November – SSC
