Will Dickwella break the jinx at Pallekele?

• A maiden Test hundred still eludes him

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Few are aware that Niroshan Dickwella, the Sri Lankan wicket-keeper/batsman, is currently the holder of a credible record in Test cricket for making the most number of fifties without ever scoring a Test century.

The 27-year-old left-hand bat and wicket-keeper made his Test debut against South Africa at the SSC in July 2014, and has to-date played in 43 Tests and scored a total of 17 fifties with a top score of 96 against the West Indies at North Sound – Antigua in the recently concluded Test series.

The most number of fifties a batsman has scored before making a Test hundred is 15, which is shared by two former captains, Australia’s Bob Simpson and South Africa’s Trevor Goddard.

Simpson, whose highest score was 92, broke the drought by amassing 311 against England at Old Trafford in 1964 and went onto score a total of 10 hundreds in 62 Tests. Goddard, whose highest score was 99, eventually crossed the three-figure mark in Tests for the first time by scoring 112 against England at Johannesburg in 1965. It was to be Goddard’s only century in the 41 Tests he played for his country.

Amongst the Sri Lankans, Chaminda Vaas scored 11 fifties before making a Test hundred and Hashan Tillakaratne scored nine fifties prior to crossing three-figures.

Dickwella has twice come heartbreakingly close to scoring a Test hundred, being dismissed in the nervous nineties within a period of two months this year. He was out for 92 against England at Galle in January and for 96 against West Indies at North End in March.

Prior to the England series, Dickwella said that he was working incredibly hard with the batting coach Grant Flower on how to change gears and target only certain bowlers instead of everyone and then pace out his innings. However, things didn’t pan out for him as expected and by the end of the series he was still left hunting for his elusive Test hundred. 

In a way, Dickwella cannot be faulted for not being able to score a Test hundred because for most of his innings he has to bat with the tail. His position in the batting order has been either at No. 6 or No. 7. Of the 17 Test fifties he has scored so far, nine has been made batting at No. 6, seven batting at No. 7 and one batting at No. 8.  It’s not that Dickwella has not had any support from the tail, but it is due to his own indiscretion or bad luck that has seen him get out within reach of the hundred.

For instance, against the West Indies, where he made his highest Test score of 96, he was on 82 when the last of the recognised batsmen Pathum Nissanka got out. Suranga Lakmal, who joined him, offered ample support, but it was just not meant to be.

Dickwella was caught-behind when no one appealed and then deflected a bouncer off his helmet onto his stumps without dislodging the bails, and yet, fate still denied him a hundred.

When he got out for 92 against England at Galle, it was Dickwella’s rashness that proved his undoing after partnering Dilruwan Perera in a stand worth 89 for the seventh wicket.

With the two Tests against Bangladesh being played in his hometown Kandy, it is a golden opportunity for Dickwella to put right the one blemish in his blossoming career by scoring his maiden Test century.