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Sri Lanka v England, 2nd Test, Colombo
Jayawardene puts faith in young charges
Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Colombo
December 8, 2007
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Following the retirement of Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga will open with Michael Vandort
© AFP
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Sri Lanka has the rare honour of going into a Test match with the
world's best batsman and best bowler in their ranks, as they prepare
to take on England in the second Test at the SSC on Sunday.
Kumar Sangakkara made history during the first Test at Kandy, when he
became the first batsman to make scores in excess of 150 in four
consecutive Tests. His innings of 92 and 152 were the single biggest
differences between the two teams, although it was Muttiah Muralitharan who
claimed most of the plaudits, as he broke Shane Warne's world record
in the midst of another nine-wicket haul.
Both men now sit proudly at the top of the ICC world rankings, and
with players of that quality to call upon, Sri Lanka's captain,
Mahela Jayawardene, was able to look forward with confidence to the
second Test, where his side have the opportunity to wrap up the series
with a match to spare.
"It's to do with the brand of cricket that we play," Jayawardene said.
"We are not afraid to express ourselves out there whether it is in a
Test or ODI. We just go out there and enjoy ourselves and play the
brand of cricket we are quite used to playing. That has helped us to
be the best that we can be.
"We have lots of records in world cricket and hopefully we want to
push ourselves a bit more every day. That's the attitude we are trying
to develop in our younger generation. Not just be complacent with the
talent you have but still work hard so that they can be better players
five or six years down the line."
It's not just a recent phenomenon from Sri Lanka, as Jayawardene was
keen to point out. For this team, everything stems from the success of
the 1996 World Cup squad, who transformed the ambitions of the
island's cricketers. "They showed that if we believe in ourselves we
can definitely be one of the best teams in the world and be very
consistent at that.
"The effort we put in has to go to that group of players who,
with limited facilities, proved beyond anybody's dreams what Sri Lanka
can achieve. We do owe them a lot of gratitude for that. Our self
belief, our motivation is because of them. We know we can be the best
in the world if we work really hard."
Sri Lanka eventually won the first Test by 88 runs, but the scoreline
doesn't indicate just how closely fought the game was. Until
Muralitharan popped up with the new ball, England were within 20
minutes of salvaging a draw, and Jayawardene was well aware that - but
for one or two missed opportunities - the result could have been even
closer than that.
"England are a very good side," said Jayawardene. "The first Test is a
match they probably should have done much better [in], given the situation
they were in after the first couple of days. In that regard we are
very happy with the result. They'll come back really hard at us and we
just need to make sure we concentrate and look out for those moments
and make sure we put them under pressure early in the Test and keep
them down as much as possible."
There is one significant change in the Sri Lankan ranks. Sanath
Jayasuriya retired from Test cricket after the Kandy victory, which
has allowed Upul Tharanga to return to open the batting with Michael
Vandort. That's about the only change Sri Lanka are likely to make
from their winning side.
Tharanga had a great 2006 season but lost his form and was eventually
dropped from the team. He has since fought his way back with a century
and an eighty against England in the warm-up games and with
Jayasuriya's retirement was the most likely candidate for the opener's
berth. With Marvan Atapattu, Jayasuriya's long standing opening
partner, also quitting international cricket, Jayawardene said that
Sri Lanka cricket was currently going through a difficult phase.
"We just need to make sure we keep the focus going and help the
youngsters to get through this period and guide them through," said
Jayawardene, "because these are the guys who are going to take Sri
Lanka cricket in the next decade or so.
"It's going to be a good challenge for us. It is easier for them to play
in home conditions. For them to take that kind of responsibility on
their own turf it will be a much easier job for them. They can move
forward after that. We played guys like Chamara [Silva], Mubarak,
Vandort and Upul when the opportunities came. These are not pretty new
guys; they've had some experience.
"It's tough [with] both Marvan and Sanath leaving at the same time but we knew
it was going to happen. Both of them were in the same age group and we
felt they probably make that call at the same time which happened. We
were prepared for it and these are the young guys who can take that
responsibility and we wish them the very best."
© Cricinfo
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