By Dhammika Ratnaweera
Sri Lankan young leg spinner Wanidu Hasaranga is a fantastic cricketer and the way he bowls, the control of his length has been amazing said Head coach Mickey Arthur. He also hints out the key to the wrist-spinners for the team before the three ODI West Indies cricket series which will commence tomorrow (22) at the SSC grounds.
Arthur who is handling the Sri Lanka ODI series for the first time after new appointment further said the two spinners Hasaranga (leg spinner) and Lakshan Sandakan (wrist-spinner) will be expected to make breakthroughs through the middle overs of the innings. Actually Sri Lanka was one of the few teams without a reliable wrist-spinner during last year’s ODI world cup. Focus on T-20 world cup in later this year Australia the team is looking to fill that void.
“The key to the wrist spinners, and to playing both of them together, is genuine wicket-taking options for us through the middle,” Arthur said. “That is the key, and that’s what wins you white-ball cricket games now. We want to play that brand of cricket. We are looking to attack and looking to take wickets. I think that’s the future for this team. I think in terms of our preparation, that’s been the message. The message has been around attacking. We don’t want to play defensive cricket anymore. That will be reflected in our selection. If the two wrist-spinners can do the job for us tomorrow, that will be fantastic, because they will take wickets.
Mickey Arthur confirmed that Tisara Perera was likely to return to Sri Lanka’s ODI XI for this game, owing largely to his bowling, which they see as superior to that of Dasun Shanaka, his competition for the No. 7 spot. Thisara’s recent bowling returns, however, haven’t been encouraging. He has not taken a wicket in his five most-recent ODIs. (though during that sequence, he has occasionally been economical, such as against India in the World Cup, where he conceded only 34 from his 10 overs). With Shanaka in good batting form in the ongoing first-class competition in Sri Lanka, Thisara needs to impose himself on this series to keep Shanaka out of the XI.
Meanwhile, coach Arthur also impressed with the Sri Lankan fielding. “I was watching us go through our fielding yesterday. Our fielding has improved massively. That’s testimony to the players and their attitudes. They’ve bought into where we want to go. And the coaching from Shane McDermott around that has been fantastic. We’ve been big on the split step. We’ve been big on trigger movements on the field, just to trigger the guys into action. To see the whole field moving is a massive improvement on where we were when we went to India with that T20 side.
On the batting department, Sri Lanka has a clear idea who their top six is. Each of those players has a specific job. “The thing about our batting is that there is a license at the top of the order,” Arthur said. Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando at the top of the order – dynamic. Kusal Perera will bat three. Avishka will open with skipper Dimuth Karunaratna. They will have a licence to get us away in that Powerplay period. And 4, 5, 6 is Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva Those are the guys who we want to control those overs 11-40. And then hopefully, we’ll have the likes of one of them, a Thisara Perera and a Wanindu, to finish it. If we script the perfect game, that’s how it would work out. We know it doesn’t always happen added, Arthur .
Meanwhile, West Indies skipper Kieran Pollard said “The guys showed in India how we should play. They gave us that blueprint. We have that set, and it’s just a matter of ticking boxes.”We are expected to make good challenge with all the players are confident. The day who performed well can win the game doesn’t matter we wanted to play good cricket and always very happy to play in Sri Lanka. We are not finalised the eleven and it will do before the match after inspection the pitch added Pollard.
However Sri Lanka the current eight in the ICC ranking and ranking 9th West Indies both expected to make good battle on this series. If West Indies win the series, they move up to eighth on the rankings, pushing Sri Lanka down to ninth. However, going back to the records the last three matches played at SSC won by Sri Lanka and they are tried to continue their winning mentality in the only day game of the series.
The two teams for the 1st one day game
West Indies (possible): 1 Sunil Ambris, 2 Shai Hope (wk), 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Roston Chase, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt.), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Fabian Allen, 9 Keemo Paul, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Sheldon Cottrell
Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt.), 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Kusal Perera, 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Isuru Udana, 10 Lakshan Sandakan, 11 Nuwan Pradeep
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