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+--- Thread: 34-years ago, Sri Lanka made their Test debut (/thread-29404.html)
34-years ago, Sri Lanka made their Test debut - dillinger10 - 02-17-2016
Thirty-four years ago, Sri Lanka became the eighth Test-playing nation with a one-off Test against England in Colombo. Sri Lanka put up a valiant effort: England eked out a first-innings lead of miserly 5 runs, and with Sri Lanka 167 for 3 in their second innings, they were very much in control of the match. It took John Emburey, the most unlikeliest of bowlers, to turn the match on its head. His five wickets sparked an almighty collapse as Sri Lanka lost their last seven wickets for eight runs, and England strolled to a comfortable seven-wicket win.
Match Scorecard
Re: 34-years ago, Sri Lanka made their Test debut - ketchim - 02-17-2016
Time does Fly !
I saw Gower in that match :-[
Re: 34-years ago, Sri Lanka made their Test debut - dillinger10 - 02-18-2016
[quote author=ketchim link=topic=102792.msg679498#msg679498 date=1455745703]
Time does Fly !
I saw Gower in that match :-[
[/quote]
There were some pretty good players on both sides of that Test match - Ranatunga and Roy Dias for Sri Lanka, Gooch, Gower, Botham, Underwood and Willis for England.
While looking over scorecards from Sri Lanka's first 2 years in the Test match arena, I came across the most wonderful stat: from January 1982 - January 1984, India failed to win a match in any of the 27 Tests played, however, they did manage to draw 18 matches. 18 draws and 0 wins in 27 matches is an extremely low statistical probability.
Re: 34-years ago, Sri Lanka made their Test debut - thedeatheater1410 - 02-18-2016
34 years is a long time, and they have made significant progress in their Test competitiveness in this short time. It's amazing to see in 34 years of Test history Sri Lanka such great players like Muralitharan, Sangakarra, Chaminda Vaas, Jayawardene and Jayasuriya. Not to mention Arjuna Ranatunga who was a really great leader. They have gone down a bit due to an inexperienced side but hopefully they will redeem themselves soon.
Re: 34-years ago, Sri Lanka made their Test debut - dillinger10 - 02-18-2016
Sri Lanka have produced some wonderful players through the years. Picking an all-time XI is a difficult task, nonetheless here is my XI:
Sanath Jayasuriya
Marvan Atapattu
Kumar Sangakkara (wk)
Aravinda de Silva
Mahela Jayawardene
Arjuna Ranatunga ©
Chaminda Vaas
Rangana Herath
Lasith Malinga
Muttiah Muralitharan
Ashantha de Mel
Those very unfortunate to miss out are Angelo Mathews, Rumesh Ratnayake, Roy Dias, Somachandra de Silva, Thilan Samaraweera and Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Sri Lanka have produced some top class batsman though they have struggled to find world class bowlers. In fact, to date, Sri Lanka have still only produced 5 bowlers to have taken 100+ wickets in Test match cricket - Muralitharan, Vaas, Herath Malinga and Fernando.
Re: 34-years ago, Sri Lanka made their Test debut - pwarbi - 02-18-2016
For a team that's not even 40 years old, there's no doubt that Sri Lanka have done a great job in getting to were they are now, even, like you say without ever producing a world class bowler.
Sri Lanka do take a bit of stick sometimes, and while I do think with the players they've had, you might expect them to be in a better position than what they are, I think the future is looking healthier than it ever had for them.
Re: 34-years ago, Sri Lanka made their Test debut - ketchim - 02-18-2016
I just had this personal issue with Sinhalese representation.
and lack of Tamil exposure !
They could be better if they can be inclusive.
Re: 34-years ago, Sri Lanka made their Test debut - dillinger10 - 02-18-2016
[quote author=pwarbi link=topic=102792.msg679633#msg679633 date=1455799514]
For a team that's not even 40 years old, there's no doubt that Sri Lanka have done a great job in getting to were they are now, even, like you say without ever producing a world class bowler.[/quote]
Muralitharan, Vaas and Malinga most certainly qualify as world class bowlers. I'm not sure anyone would argue that point. I'd probably add Herath in with them, though his numbers outside of Sri Lanka aren't quite as impressive.
Re: 34-years ago, Sri Lanka made their Test debut - dillinger10 - 02-19-2016
Andrew Fidel Fernando over at ESPN put together this interesting piece about the scarcity of quality fast bowlers produced by Sri Lanka over the years.
Quote:Sri Lanka's domestic arrangement has long been suited to producing good-quality spin options for the top level, but there has never been an abundance of polished fast bowlers on the island.
In 2013 that scarcity shows no sign of abating. A promising few have formed a battery that Vaas, now the national fast bowling coach, is charged with turning into a match-winning group, but below them there are few who might challenge for places in the top team.
Even the talent that has been identified is of the unvarnished variety. Of Suranga Lakmal, Dhammika Prasad, Shaminda Eranga and Nuwan Pradeep, only Eranga has a Test average just below 40. None of them have played 15 Tests, and with the injury-prone Chanaka Welegedara now seemingly jettisoned, there is no figure that might serve as an on-field mentor, should a bowler begin to ail.
It is a singular dearth for Sri Lanka, who have strode forward in almost every other aspect in 31 years of Test cricket. Two batsmen have now gone past 10,000 Test runs, and a third, Aravinda de Silva, might also lay claim to batting greatness. In Murali and Herath, Sri Lanka have had spinners who have been the best in the world at their craft at some point in their careers - by ranking, if not always by consensus. They have also often been the best fielding team in Asia. Yet only one of their fast bowlers has enjoyed a laudable Test career.
"I think one of the biggest issues is the pitches in our domestic cricket," says Vaas, who began his work with the Sri Lankan team in March. "Many times it's very difficult for fast bowlers to get anything out of the surface, but the spinners thrive. If we continue to make pitches just for spin, our fast bowling stocks aren't going to improve."
Vaas' contention about local pitches could hardly be borne out more plainly in first-class cricket. Each of the 14 top wicket-takers in this year's Premier League tournament is a slow bowler. In the top 20, only two bowl fast. For many teams, it has been common practice for spinners to take the new ball in the second innings, when quicks become a speculative plan B at best, or entirely superfluous at worst. It's worth noting too that unlike in almost every other Test-playing nation, first-class cricket in Sri Lanka is only a three-day pursuit, yet wearing surfaces feature as a matter of routine.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/675829.html
In the three year since that column was penned, Sri Lanka have continued to struggle to produce pace bowlers with any consistency, though Dushmantha Chameera has some serious potential and Dhammika Prasad, while not getting any younger, has been superb over this period.
Re: 34-years ago, Sri Lanka made their Test debut - thedeatheater1410 - 02-19-2016
Sri Lankan fast bowlers are pitiable human beings. Playing on surfaces which offer absolutely nothing to the fast bowlers, with low and slow bounce and where mystery spinners are the superstars must be an extremely difficult proposition. Like Chaminda Vaas earlier and Dhammika Prasad nowadays, they are always severely underrated and are mostly playing under the shadows of their spinning counterparts.