COURTESY – THE ISLAND NEWSPAPER / SPORTS
The heartbreak of the T-20 World Cup earlier this year is still fresh. Sri Lanka failed to reach the semi-finals despite enjoying home advantage throughout the tournament, with their batting proving the Achilles heel. Those concerns have hardly disappeared as they head into a three-match T-20 series against England, beginning today in Southampton.
The batting misfired in both warm-up games against England Lions and how Sri Lanka respond when the real business begins remains to be seen.
It is not as though they have not tried to find answers. Sri Lanka Cricket has brought in power hitting coaches and psychologists, while several batters have been given a long rope. Yet none of those measures has produced the desired results in the shortest format.
T-20 cricket remains Sri Lanka’s weakest suit, as reflected by their ranking of ninth in the world, their lowest position across the three formats.
England, meanwhile, arrive with considerably more swagger. They went down fighting to eventual champions India in the semi-final of this year’s World Cup and are currently ranked second in the world, level on points with India. A series win will see Harry Brook’s side seize the number one ranking.
Sri Lanka have plenty of motivation of their own, with a 2-1 series victory helping them climb the rankings.
The bigger question, however, is how a batting unit short on confidence will cope against a formidable England attack.
Pathum Nissanka remains Sri Lanka’s biggest hope. Ranked sixth in the world, the top order batter has frequently carried the burden on his broad shoulders and once again much will depend on how he fares against the new ball.
Barring Kusal Janith Perera, there has been little change to the batting unit that featured at the World Cup. Given the continued struggles, it is fair to wonder whether Sri Lanka need to rethink not merely their approach but also the personnel entrusted with carrying it out.
The bowling, though, paints a much brighter picture.
Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana are both ranked among the world’s top ten, while the fast bowling unit has arguably been the most impressive component of the side. Their skill set and ability to hold their nerve under pressure have repeatedly helped Sri Lanka drag games back when the batting has left them with little margin for error.
One question that lingers, however, is whether Sri Lanka require quite so many spin options in English conditions.
Apart from Hasaranga and Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage and Tharindu Rathnayake are also part of the squad, leaving the selectors with some interesting calls to make over the balance of the side.
England have named a formidable squad led by Brook and featuring established match winners Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid.
There is also room for uncapped Welshman Aneurin Donald, a prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket, while 22-year-old spin bowling all-rounder James Coles is the other uncapped player in the squad.