2011 World Cup

Sri Lanka, come on start now

The Sri Lanka cricketing juggernaut, perhaps most the selectors, must by now be surely all focused on the many moons that would take the team to the 2011 world cup. And surely it wouldn’t be out of place that the selectors from now begin looking at getting the best eleven dressed up for that extravaganza. And shouldn’t we for a start be looking at the central opening batting role and who should partner the first obvious choice of Tillekeratne Dilshan. Of course, that wouldn’t need to stretch no further than the left hander Upul Tharanga. The weight that throws around the left handed Tharanga is the obvious re-emergence of this down south player from the dumps in reproducing the type of form that once saw him firmly installed in his role partnering Sanath Jayasuriya.

Weight is on Tharanga’s side

For one who had lingered in the wilderness of loss of form for a considerable time his recent performances on tour against India including reaching the coveted three-figure mark rewrote his re-arrival. Given the experience - 8 centuries and 13 half centuries from 88 innings from 92 matches with a 73.21 strike rate, is a fair achievement that pumps in faith around his ability. Unless of course, the batsman drifts again which looks improbable going on the basis that Tharanga has rediscovered his form. That and his ability to bash the ball when in full flow stand in Upul Tharanga’s favour as the most likely partner for Tharanga in that build up.
While numbers 3 and 4 lie in the safe hands of the most experienced twosome of skipper Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene , it is the No.5 centre spot as far as holding strong middle orders go that is focal to giving depth to a team’s batting.

Samaraweera right choice

Analytically, the 32-year old stoic right hander as a copy book batsman in Tilan Samaraweera looks the best bet. That given the once written off and considered only Test match property changing the selectors’ stand by some telling batting performances including a couple of match swinging centuries against India.
Importantly, Samaraweera, in expelling doubts once created that he was made only for Test cricket, has progressively displayed the knack to score at will when in full flow.
While Thilina Kandamby has been a regular at No.6 for sometime, the recall of axed Chamara Silva apparently indicates the selectors are in two minds in that area. In toying with both names as potential world cup material their ability to deliver must in reasoning count. While Kandamby, aged 27, has been a type of plodder who takes time to get settled, de Silva on the other hand has been half hearted. He was regularly persisted with at the 2007 world cup despite failing to go past the 30 odd. Even after he was continued with but with the same result before growing public outcry saw him replaced.

Continued failure

To recall Chamara Silva at age 30 with the world cup in mind would wholly look unwise considering his low contributions with the bat. It is a specialist middle order batsman being looked at and how good a fielder he is must not warrant a place. Then we have the highly talked of left handed Lahiru Thirimanne who has earned a reputation as quite a batsman representing the Lanka youth teams and the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team. Thirimanne is still 20 and some may argue that he is raw material. But given the Australian system where players like Michael Clarke and the Husseys among others have made it in the fronting years of their careers after better examples like Sachin Tendulkar and Greg Chappell who walked in to their national teams with the fruit was just turning red, certainly Thirimanne is fodder for the selectors to chew on. More so considering he is a left hander.

Groom Thirimanne

It would not be a bad idea to groom the former Cambrian at every given opportunity and give him the type of exposure needed to bring out the sparkle in his batting. With the top 4 batsmen in their 30’s - Samaraweera is 33 and Dilshan 34 and Jayawardene and Sangakkara - so that toying with a mixture of youth at No.6 or 7 could create a semblance of balance. Here, overall, the youth factor would also make a difference in strengthening the fielding department.
Of course, the recent experimenting has been caused perhaps mainly due to the failure of Chamara Kapugedera. Despite much faith placed on him by the selectors as a potential batting torchbearer after Jayawardene and Sangakkara, Kapugedera has not lived up to that promise. For a batsman who arrived on the scene just in mid 2000 as another Aravinda de Silva, Kapugedera has been a disappointment. He has failed to grab the opportunities given time and again.

Allround factor and third pacie

Allrounders Angeo Mathews and Thissara Perera excite the blood for the verve they carry in the biff bang game. Mathews has significantly grabbed every break he got to strongly cement his place in the side. Perera, who came as a replacement for an injured Mathews on the Indian tour and the Bangladesh triangular, has also been game to the task mainly in his contributions with the bat when the going got tough. It is in the bowling that they will need to sharpen progressively.
For pace, the combination of Nuwan Kulasekera and Chamara Welagedera looks good for a start. Mathews could well be the third pacie. But then as I stressed earlier he will need to be better than what he has been since his fiery entry of three wickets in an over in bowling Sri Lanka to victory in the Prudential Cup in England.

Sanga wanting Murali prudent?

Spin that had been a rock fortress of the country’s one-day successes including winning the 1995-’96 world cup in the sub-continent will be a key factor. With sub-continent terrain once again set to generate the heat courtesy spin bowling in the 2011 showpiece it is not out of place questioning from this point skipper Sangakkara’s stated determination to have veteran Muttih Muralidaran for a fifth fling at that level. Is this cricket savvy considering a clearly transparent burnt out Muralidaran looking overweight and bearing the scars of years of cricket’s tolls. And at the heart of it opposing batsmen working him out with a venom going by recent performances. Wouldn’t it be better off to pursue with new find Suraj Randiv while watching the progress of Ajantha Mendis who cannot be written off but needs an expert like Ashley Mallet to guide him in winning over the harsh grinds that a spinner’s life encounters as that department has shown us time immemorially.