Sri Lankan's Sense of Injustice Will Make Them Dangerous

 

 

Cricket 2014

 

A New Era Begins

 

June 12^th 2014

 

 

There is something depressingly appropriate about the start of England’s Test summer being overshadowed by another game, later in the day, which will hold at least hundreds of millions of spectators in thrall. After an at times fractious ODI series, with some serious bad feeling arising on both sides, any thought that England will breeze through another early season series against overmatched opponents should be forgotten. Sri Lanka sense a weakened England are vulnerable and are using the “in your face” tactics that other sides have employed successfully.

After a lot of talk of the Senanayake action, including some pretty damning looking pictures getting wide diffusion, it was inevitable that an umpire would report him. It is not even the first time that he has been reported – it happened in 2011 and he underwent remedial work. However, under the weird and wonderful rules that now apply on throwing, he was allowed to continue bowling, which he did with great success. Strangely though, Sri Lanka had not included him as part of the Test squad which, given England’s problems with his bowling, was probably missing a trick.

Wherever you went in the ODI series, Senanayake was in the eye of a hurricane. Action vilified in the press, with one well-known ex-player being particularly critical, his response was the Mankading of Jos Buttler the day after being reported. It was a robust response and one that suggests that Sri Lanka are trying to feed off the sense of injustice that sides from the sub-continent have often fed successfully into an iron resolve to get revenge on the pitch. Senanayake gave at least one warning and then, with Jos Buttler either in denial or in a dream world somewhere, proceeded to complete the dismissal. Buttler can have no complaints and should feel a prize idiot.

However, there is an undercurrent of something rather nasty swilling around. Angelo Matthews has suggested that Senanayake was targeted by England because they could not play him and that the aim of the report was to get him out of the Sri Lankan team. The fact that the report has to be made by the umpiring team including, for the Lords match, Marais Erasmus (South African) and match referee Jeff Crowe (New Zealand) does not suggest an English plot. This umpiring team was in place all series, with an Englishman, a South African and two New Zealanders in each game. What is more, the rules would always allow Senanayake to play thay the final match of the series and he would not be involved in the Tests so, as a plot to get rid of him, it was totally pointless.

The absence of Senanayake in the ceremony – the only player not to appear post-match at Lords – and the challenging comments made in his defence, suggest a current of ill-feeling, which was a sad end to a rather bizarre ODI series, with two very one-sided wins for each side and a fourth game that went down to the wire.

The ODIs and the T20 (also a narrow win for Sri Lanka) were the aperitif for the Test series. After so much talk about this being the most unpredictable England Test squad for many years, the actual squad announcement was characterised by a total lack of any real surprises: eleven of the twelve names had been widely predicted. The only slight doubts were the name of the extra bowler (Woakes rather than Patel) and whether or not the selectors felt that Matt Prior was ready for a five-day Test – if not, it is widely assumed that James Foster was on standby and he may yet play this summer.

Prior played against Loughborough and in the first Championship match against Middlesex in April and, since then, has only played a single T20 and the latest Championship game against Nottinghamshire. Scores of 43, 0, 125, 39, 30 and 19* suggest that his batting is in decent knick, but he has only taken the gloves for the T20 and the Notts game, so there must be some doubt about his staying power if he needs to field for the best part of two days.

The failures of others had made Sam Robson’s elevation inevitable after a superb winter. His start to the season has been solid, rather than spectacular, with a single First Class century (a big one) plus another in a friendly and 3x50. His season so far has been famine or feast: 11, 1, 163, 41*, 7, 77, 7, 68, 51, 19*, 6, 24, 42*. However, 517 runs at 51.7 is not to be sniffed at, even if it places him only 18^th in the table of run-scorers so far in First Class cricket.

Chris Jordan’s success had made his elevation inevitable. With Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad fit and showing good form and useful part-time spinners available in Root and Moeen Ali, Samit Patel and Scott Borthwick could not force their way in and James Tredwell’s travails meant that he was never a serious option as a specialist spinner.

Liam Plunkett has been getting headlines this season. He has not been destructive – he still does not have a 5-for and his best match figures are only 5-97 – but he has been fast, nasty, aggressive and consistent with 26 wickets at 25.5. The Sri Lankan batsmen have already shown that if there is any life in the pitch at all they just do not fancy facing Chris Jordan one little bit.

It is a safe bet that Chris Woakes (somewhat lucky to be picked given his poor season so far, but still as good an all-round promise as you can get) will be the spare bowler and that will Jimmy Anderson, who has been in vintage form, blocks up an end, the Sri Lankans will face Jordan, Plunkett and Broad running in hard and bowling a lot of short balls at the body.

Lords pitches have not been very lively in recent years. If the Sri Lankan’s find any green at all in the pitch this morning it will do nothing to alleviate their suspicions that they are being victimised. A strong and united team with a grudge will be a dangerous opponent, even though England should be too strong in the end.