We are in a building phase for the next World Cup – Silverwood

 Afghanistan hard at practice ahead of the third ODI at Pallekele

• Sri Lanka find playing on flat surfaces is paying dividends
• Third and final ODI against Afghanistan today

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Head coach Chris Silverwood in conversation with Sri Lanka ODI captain Kusal Mendis during practices at Pallekele

One of the most improved bowlers is Asitha Fernando

Following the aftermath of the Cricket World Cup in India, Sri Lanka cricket seems to be gradually rising from the ashes having so far won four series in a row – two against Zimbabwe (2-0 ODI and 2-1 T20I) and two against Afghanistan (1-0 Test and 2-0 ODI) within two months. They will be looking to complete a clean sweep against Afghanistan in the ODI series with a win in the third and final game at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium today.

The turnaround of Sri Lanka’s success has been the ability to identify where they went wrong in the Cricket World Cup, where they won only two out of nine matches.

One of the key areas for Sri Lanka’s failure was the batsmen’s inability to put up big runs on the board. This happened because they played on bowler friendly surfaces which didn’t allow the batsmen to trust the pitch.

Speaking of what has been done to improve Sri Lanka’s cricket after the World Cup disappointment, head coach Chris Silverwood said, “If you look at 50-over cricket at the moment, the game plan we are working on we need to play on good wickets. That’s why I asked for flat wickets. I got support for that. Allow the players the opportunity to galvanise that game plan. The wickets have been excellent. We have seen a lot of runs and we need that and we need to defend those big scores.”

“We have played on flat surfaces. Put on big runs and got good partnerships. Today in the 50-over games the 300 total has become regular. We have to learn how to do that. In bowling, we have to learn how to defend and what discipline we need to do that. Moving forward it will hold us in good stead. We are in a building phase for the next World Cup. We have to get all the blocks right and everyone knows their roles.”

“But I think I have some work to do. So far, the games we have played we have done well. Very happy to come here to Kandy and play on two excellent surfaces. We have got big runs and are learning how to defend on these wickets. Individuals of the team have been fantastic to watch. The top six have put on some very good partnerships for us. We have played some good exciting cricket. Bowlers have to work hard and that will help us to play some good cricket all around the world.”

One of the areas that Sri Lanka has improved is in their fast bowling department where Silverwood, a former England fast bowler has a role to play.

“I love fast bowling and it’s a passion of mine,” said Silverwood. “I have been trying to help the youngsters we have got here. Everybody has improved. For me, to give my experience being a fast bowler myself I have enjoyed it. It is great to watch. We have to give credit to bowlers. They are trying different things and we have seen results. These are early days and we need to keep pushing. We are forming up a young, very good fast bowling unit.”

“We have been working on some basics. After the first game, I thought there was a lot of room for improvement. We sat down with the boys. We have shown them the areas and lengths we have bowled, what was successful and what was not successful. They picked up beautifully in the second game.”

“One thing that we worked on was can you start the over well and finish the over well. Can you push the pressure back onto the batsman? Make them play the big shots rather than giving them runs either side of the over. Then the job of the next bowler is to pick up from where the other guy left. Constantly put the pressure on the batsmen. I think we did that particularly well with the boundary count coming down.”

One of the most improved bowlers is Asitha Fernando. “He certainly put his best foot forward in the last game. The way he turned up at short notice, the way he performed with the ball in the hand was fantastic,” said Silverwood. ”The skills he has got what he showed in the Test match lend themselves very much to ODI cricket as well. The lengths he can hit hard time and time again. The line that he bowls is very tight. He has got a very good accurate bouncer. For me, he needs to keep pushing. He has to work on his slower ball. He has the skills that are needed to be successful in white ball cricket.”

Reflecting on Pathum Nissanka’s record breaking double century in the first ODI, Silverwood said, “Pathum has been threatening to do something big for a while now. He has been quite a consistent performer for us. He has gone about making that position his own. He had the right conditions and we witnessed something special that day. What a way to celebrate your 50th ODI cap by scoring the highest score by a Sri Lankan. We in the dressing room really enjoyed it.”

Despite having lost the series 2-0, Afghanistan are still hopeful they can make a comeback in today’s game and make amends for the loss.

“It’s in our culture we don’t like to lose a game against any side,” said Afghanistan assistant coach Rais Ahmadzai. “Still, it is not the end of the world, we still have a good chance to win the last match and get some confidence for the T20I series.”

“Honestly, we didn’t expect to lose the series, all credit goes to the Sri Lankan side. They have done well in all three areas batting, bowling and fielding. They were ahead of us. This is something that we should think about. The last match is a good opportunity for us to come back in the series.”

“The second match it was quite unexpected the way we batted. At one time we thought we would chase the target but everything went against us. Credit goes again to the way the Sri Lankans bowled. The first match was a high scoring one but we did very well in the batting. The first two matches were a good learning curve for us in all three departments against a top nation like Sri Lanka.”

Afghanistan will continue to miss out on their two key spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman who are both injured, but Ahmadzai said it is a good opportunity for the youngsters to learn.