Bowling a concern as Sri Lanka wrestle with an inexperienced line up

No hiding the fact that Sri Lanka desperately needs some match winning bowlers

• Australia the next World Cup opponents

Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Taking an inexperienced bowling line up for a tournament as massive as the Cricket World Cup is like playing with fire.

With the number of injuries to their key bowlers Sri Lanka had no option but to pick from what they had from their reserves bench. The two World Cup matches they have played so far against South Africa and against Pakistan have revealed that the bowlers whom they have picked lack the experience to contain or take wickets against far superior opposition than what they have come up against so far.

Sri Lanka are dearly missing Wanindu Hasaranga, their star all-rounder who can turn a match with either the ball or the bat. Their crying need at the moment is for a bowler who could pick wickets and contain the opposition so that whatever total that Sri Lanka puts up can be defended successfully.

The present bowling unit has shown that they are unable to stem the flow of runs especially on flat surfaces and on Indian grounds that have smaller boundaries. The result is that in successive matches the bowlers have been carted around for a total of 773 runs while capturing only nine wickets. Sri Lanka came to the World Cup having bowled sides out on 14 consecutive occasions, but most of them were against associate members teams during the World Cup Qualifiers. The Cricket World Cup is a different plane altogether where the best batsmen in the world are on show. Against that kind of opposition you need your best bowlers available to make it a real contest. Sadly for Sri Lanka, they are without two of their match winners Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera who would have made a world of difference to the bowling line-up. Instead, they are struggling with two 20-year-old extremely talented bowlers who lack international exposure and experience and, with a bowling unit that is incapable of winning matches against top opposition when there is no help from the pitch.

The key issue for Sri Lanka is how do they get about solving the problem of bowlers? Matheesha Pathirana has proved to be too expensive in his two matches that he has already conceded 185 runs in the 19 overs he has bowled for two wickets, a good many of them accounting for wides which would have hurt Sri Lanka especially in the game against Pakistan where they had a chance of winning after posting a total of 344. Wellalage in his two matches has gone for 143 runs for a solitary wicket. It is too early for players like Pathirana and Wellalage to be thrown into the deep end like the World Cup where experience plays a big part. Without any solid support from the other end Maheesh Theekshana who usually bowls in tandem with Hasaranga becomes ineffective. When runs are leaked from one end it makes his task even more difficult. Returning from injury, Theekshana conceded 59 runs for one wicket against Pakistan.

Speaking to the media after the Pakistan match Theekshana said, “Traditionally we’ve been a team that wins through our bowling strength. However, playing here is significantly different from playing in Sri Lanka. The wickets here are less forgiving; a slight misstep in line and length from a bowler can easily lead to a boundary.”

“In Sri Lanka, the slow and uneven wickets offer some room for error, especially for spinners. The other noticeable difference is the high-scoring nature of games here; the team batting second can chase down big totals. I believe if we had scored at least 370 runs today, the outcome might have been different. The conditions were favourable for us, and we had a rare opportunity to beat Pakistan, something we haven’t done for many years. Unfortunately, we lost due to mistakes in all three departments—bowling, batting, and fielding.”

Lahiru Kumara who has not played a game so far will need to come in for Sri Lanka’s next game against Australia at Lucknow on 16 October replacing the expensive Pathirana. Sri Lanka’s other bowling option is the leg-spin of Dushan Hemantha who has played in only three ODIs. Sri Lanka certainly have their backs against the wall where bowling is concerned. They have six days before the next game to sort things out.

The only redeeming feature for them has been their batting where Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Pathum Nissanka have hit their straps enabling Sri Lanka to go consistently past the 300-run mark twice so far. But problems still continue to persist with the opening slot where Kusal Perera returning from injury is nowhere near the Kusal that we all know. He is finding it difficult to middle the ball and lack of feet movement has led to his cheap dismissals. The third opener Dimuth Karunaratne is also struggling for form that is why Perera was preferred. The other issue that Sri Lanka needs to address is the middle and late order batting which is not doing any justice to the top. Against South Africa from 232-5 they folded up for 326 and against Pakistan from 294-4 they lost five wickets for 50 runs.

Sri Lanka badly needs a win under their belt and where it is going to come from is anyone’s guess.