The Reverse Sweep

2nd Test: Sri Lanka vs England - Sri Lanka marks out of 10

Lahiru Thirimanne - 2: Fell twice to Anderson with the new ball to total just 28 runs for the series, and with a Test match average currently under 20 has plenty of work to do to establish himself at this level. 

Tillakaratne Dilshan - 5: Contentious second innings dismissal showed up limitations of DRS and meant his wait for a Test hundred extends to 21 innings. Won't be signing up for KP's Switch Hit fan club. Bowled well enough to suggest a bid for all-rounder status would not be unwarranted.

Kumar Sangakkara - 2: Fell to his second successive 1st innings golden duck and is in danger of becoming Anderson's bunny. Undone by a beauty by Swann second time around to complete a dismal series for the man that began it is the world's top ranked batsman.

Mahela Jayawardene - 9: Produced another masterpiece to follow up his big hundred in Galle and then resisted again in the 2nd innings before even he was unable to escape a ripper from Swann.

Thilan Samaraweera - 7: As in Galle, got going in both innings before losing his wicket when a big hundred looked to be in the offing.

Angelo Mathews - 7: Came in after injury prevented his participation in Galle and proved that he can adapt his style to the long-form of the game with a patient fifty in the 1st innings and a similarly sedate 46 second time around. 

Prasanna Jayawardene - 5: Solid again with the gloves but no heroics this time with the bat as he fell for single figure scores in both visits to the crease.

Suraj Randiv - 4: Dealt with contemptuously by Pietersen and was unable to reprise his impressive performance at Galle as England's batsmen played him much more confidently this time. 

Dhammika Prasad - 4: Performed admirably as a nightwatchman opener in the 2nd innings but whilst tidy proved mostly unthreatening with the ball.

Rangana Herath - 8: Bagged his third six wicket haul in a row but lacked the support at the other end he had received in Galle.

Suranga Lakmal - 2: Disappointing with the ball - lacked threat, didn't take a wicket and went at nearly four runs per over.

Where next?

1st Test England marks out of 10 and Sri Lanka marks out of 10

County Championship preview: Our XI to watch in 2012

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

1st Test: Sri Lanka vs England - Sri Lanka marks out of 10

Lahiru Thirimanne - 4: Failed twice with the bat but as King Cricket explains made himself big like a goalkeeper at short-leg where his bravery and anticipation changed the course of the match when he caught Prior in the second innings.

Tillakaratne Dilshan - 3: Had a game to forget with the bat, but kept it tight with the ball and performed a fielding masterclass with four catches and several breathtaking stops.

Kumar Sangakkara - 2: Cricket's most renowned orator bagged a golden duck in the 1st innings before being undone by a beauty by Swann second time around. Spilled a catch at leg slip to reprieve Pietersen that fortunately for him did not prove crucial in the final reckoning - it's a lot harder without the gloves Kumar.

Mahela Jayawardene - 10: An absolutely brilliant and sublime hundred gave his team an initiative that they were to never truly relinquish. His intelligent attacking strategies in the field suffocated the life out of England's batsmen and demonstrated that Sri Lanka are a completely different side with him at the helm.

Thilan Samaraweera - 5: Exhibited extreme caution to help his captain repair the early damage on day one before a desperately unlucky run out. Was more fluent second time around before uncharacteristically giving his wicket away when well set.

Dinesh Chandimal - 4: Is clearly a fantastically talented young batsman but needs to learn not to give his wicket away cheaply after playing himself in as he did in both innings here.

Prasanna Jayawardene - 8: An electric performance behind the stumps and a crucial unbeaten 61 in the 2nd innings, which helped his side add a decisive 87 runs for the last two wickets. Hugely underrated.

Rangana Herath - 9: He may not be a  Murali or a Saeed Ajmal, but he was still too good for England's spin shy batsmen as he bowled with control to bag a match haul of 12 wickets.

Suraj Randiv - 8: Proved to be a good foil for Herath especially in England's 2nd innings and took six wickets in the match. Useful contribution with the bat as nightwatchman.

Chanaka Welegedara - 5: Just the one wicket and a big one too as it was Pietersen. Dug in both times with the bat adding 54 and 40 for the ninth wicket with the Jayawardenes.    

Suranga Lakmal - 6: Started off England's 1st innings demise with a wonderful ball to dismiss Cook and looked lively enough throughout excepting a mini dismantling by Stuart Broad.

Where next?

1st Test: Sri Lanka vs England - England marks out of 10

Sri Lanka's far from ideal preparation

Thilan Samaraweera takes aim at the Sri Lankan selectors

Sri Lankan cricket heroes: Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

So Sri Lanka are not like Jesse Ryder after all

Imagine an inebriated Jesse Ryder at the top of a steep hill. Now factor in that the hill is actually a mountain covered in treacherous icy snow and Ryder has somehow managed to strap himself onto a snowboard covered in grease.

The result would be both messy and inevitable as an out of control Ryder came hurtling down the hill faster than Chris Gayle jumping aboard the latest T20 gravy train.

A few months ago we wrote that Sri Lanka's cricket team were travelling downhill just as quickly as Ryder in his insobriety. Thankfully - Sri Lanka are our second favourite team (aren't they everyone's second team?) - our suggestion of their demise has proved to be greatly exaggerated.

Irrespective of whether they win the deciding final in Adelaide on Thursday, Sri Lanka have looked the best side in the CB Series. Sure they started slowly, and yes they allowed an adrenalin charged Virat Kohli to lead India to a target of 320 in less than 36 overs, but they still look a better all round one day side than number one ranked Australia and World Cup holders India.

The top four have all scored runs. Tillakaratne Dilshan unencumbered by the captaincy looks like the man who has averaged around 46 since moving up to open in 2009. Kumar Sangakkara is as serene as ever and Mahela Jayawardene has been clearly energised by his restoration as captain. Finally, Dinesh Chandimal looks a batsman that Sri Lanka can build a new generation on.

Add in the brilliance of the now injured Angelo Mathews and a deceptively varied bowling attack led by Lasith Malinga who has been sublime one day and ridiculous the next in this series and Sri Lanka look a damn fine one day side.

Memories of a disappointing tour of England last summer, which formed a prelude to a chastening home defeat by Australia and finishing second best to Pakistan in all formats in the UAE have dissipated slightly.

They may have only won one Test since the retirement of Murali, but it seems that they are gathering momentum at just the right time before England visit Sri Lankan shores in the coming weeks. They also look a decent bet to win the Asia Cup.

All in all and unlike Ryder, Sri Lanka no longer look like they are going to end up in a disorientated heap at the bottom of the hill in the near future.

Where next?

Virat Kohli's very very special innings

Beware Brad Haddin; John Inverarity & the NSP are coming to get you

Thilan Samaraweera takes aim at the Sri Lankan selectors

Sri Lankan cricket heroes: Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The best Test XI of 2011

Alastair Cook (927 runs at 84.27, 4 100s): Started off the year in Sydney with his third hundred of a prolific Ashes series before scoring runs for fun against Sri Lanka and then grinding India into submission with a monumental 294 at Edgbaston.

Rahul Dravid (1145 runs at 57.25, 5 100s): We could have gone for either Taufeeq Umar and Mohammad Hafeez as a specialist opener but instead we opt for the reluctant opener and highest Test run scorer of the year. 2011 was the year of Dravid's resurrection. Whether it was showing the Indian youngsters how to do it with a brilliant hundred on a treacherous Sabina Park wicket or singularly manning a burning bridge in England with three hundreds and a quarter of the team's total runs in the series, Dravid was immense. 

Kumar Sangakkara (1034 runs at 49.23, 4 100s): Others may hadmore impressive averages in 2011, but King Kumar was the second highest scorer in Tests and saved matches at the Rose Bowl and even more memorably at Abu Dhabi where his epic 644 minute 211 foiled Pakistan. Finally his 2nd innings hundred at Kingsmead helped set up a famous win for his side. If that wasn't enough like Dravid he also shone away from the crease too with his already legendary Cowdrey Lecture.

Kevin Pietersen (731 runs at 73.10, 2 100s): A close call with Younis Khan(765 runs at 85.00) but we judged that KP's runs came against sterner opposition. His double hundred at Lord's against India showed a new responsibility to Pietersen's batting whilst his 175 at The Oval showed that he was back to his flamboyant peacock strutting best.

Ian Bell (950 runs at 118.75, 5 100s): From just 11 visits to the crease in 2011, Bell hit one double hundred, four further hundreds and two fifties. He also finally removed the monkey off his back when batting at three with a brilliant match-turning hundred at Trent Bridge and a masterly double hundred at The Oval. Could well be the best batsman in the world at the moment.

Misbah-ul-Haq (765 runs at 69.54, 1 100): Pakistan's inspirational captain proved a calming influence on his exhuberent team and an even calmer presence at the crease where he scored seven fifties to go with his one hundred. As captain his side beat New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh and drew in the Caribbean, which given the turmoil when he took over from the disgraced Salman Butt was nothing short of remarkable.

Matt Prior (519 runs at 64.87, 3 100s): Like Cook and Bell started off the year with a hundred in the Sydney Test. He then scored hundreds at Lord's against Sri Lanka and a crucial 2nd innings effort against India after England had suffered a mini-collapse. Perhaps even more important is the speed at which he gets his runs with his strike rate of 89 being the highest of anyone with more than 250 runs in 2011. His work with the gloves continues to impress just don't mention that Lord's dressing room window.

Stuart Broad (33 wickets at 22.30, 1 five-for; 239 runs at 39.83, 3 50s): Welegedera, Gul, Philander and team-mates Bresnan and Tremlett ran him close but Broad's performances against India gets him our vote. In the first two Tests he bordered on the Bothamesque – the partnership with Prior steadied the ship at Lord’s, his fifty at Trent Bridge lifted England from the abyss and his hat-trick the next day dramatically changed the course of the match. He ended the series with 25 wickets at 14 and 182 runs at 61.

Dale Steyn (28 wickets at 19.57, 2 five-fors) - South Africa may have only played five Tests in 2011 but it is impossible to leave the best bowler in the world by a country mile out especially with a strike rate in 2011 of 38.2. Became the second quickest in history (after Lillee) to 250 Test wickets and at his best reminds one of Malcolm Marshall in his pomp. Yes, Steyn is that good.

Saeed Ajmal (50 wickets at 23.86, 3 five-fors): The leading wicket taker in Tests in 2011 and now arguably the best spinner in world cricket - his upcoming battle with Swann in the UAE will be fascinating. Pips team-mate Abdur Rehman, Devendra Bishoo and Rangana Herath for the spinners role in our XI.

James Anderson (35 wickets at 24.85, ER 2.93, SR 50.8, 1 five-for): Completed his demolition job of Australia at Sydney and then moved on to the small matter of India's stellar batting line-up in the summer where he made a certain Sachin Tendulkar look mortal. After Steyn the best quick bowler in the world.

Where next?

The best Test XI of 2010

Read our Cricket Review of 2011

Are Cook, Trott and Bell more impressive than Pippa Middleton's derriere?

Dale Steyn's formidable statistics

Responsibility and Misbah-ul-Haq

Rahul Dravid - The impenetrable wall

Kumar Sangakkara's captivating story

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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Cricket memories of 2011: Sangakkara and Dravid dazzle at and away from the crease

It is hard to name any current or recently retired international cricketers with more class on and off the field than Rahul Dravid and Kumar Sangakkara. Indeed, if we were picking our fantasy government made up entirely of cricketers we’d probably opt for King Kumar as Prime Minister and The Wall as his Foreign Secretary and chief diplomat.

2011 was a phenomenally good year for both of them.

Dravid started the year with many questioning his continued presence in the Indian side. He ends it as the highest run scorer in Tests (1145) and resounding acclaim for his inspiring Bradman Oration in which he fiercely defended Test cricket and urged cricket's players and administrators to tackle the game's challenges by taking decisions that would always "respect the fan."

India’s obdurate number three tends to perform at his best when his team’s back is up against a wall (no pun intended) and there was no better example of this then during India’s tortuous series in England. Whilst the rest of India’s star-studded batting line-up – even the mighty Tendulkar – struggled, Dravid calmly stroked three defiant hundreds to finish with 461 runs at 77 – just short of a quarter of India’s total runs in the series.

Dravid’s starring role came soon after Sangakkara had rescued the first ever Rose Bowl Test with a near six hour knock having prior to that struggled on England’s early season wickets.

Like Dravid, Sangakkara’s calm demeanour and impeccable technique is ideal with dealing with adversity; something that may help slow if not prevent Sri Lanka’s tumble down the rankings post Vaas and Murali. He emulated Dravid’s feats in England through his singular manning of the barricades during the series with a dominant Pakistan in the UAE this autumn.

Whilst he couldn’t prevent Pakistan from winning the series, Sangakkara saved the 1st Test with a heroic and monumental 644 minute 211, and amassed 516 runs at 86 during the three match series. His year has culminated with another hundred in the current Durban Test, which has seemingly set up a rare victory for his side and enabled him to pass 1,000 Test runs for the calendar year - the only player other than Dravid to achieve this in 2011.

But it was his Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s that dazzled even more than his stylish accomplishments at the crease in 2011.

Sangakkara began by speaking of how cricket in Sri Lanka had slipped “through the crack of our anti-western defences and has now become the most precious heirloom of our British Colonial inheritance”, before explaining to a captivated audience the part cricket had played in easing the island’s pain of terrorism, civil war and the terrible Tsunami of 2004.

He finished by painting his vision of cricket as a unifying force in a country facing a testing period of reconciliation following the end of the civil war: "Fans of different races, castes, ethnicities and religions who together celebrate their diversity by uniting for a common national cause. They are my foundation, they are my family. I will play my cricket for them. Their spirit is the true spirit of cricket. With me are all my people. I am Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslim and Burgher. I am a Buddhist, a Hindu, a follower of Islam and Christianity. I am today, and always, proudly Sri Lankan."

Dravid and Sangakkara – as riveting to listen to as they are to watch at the crease.

Where next?

Rahul Dravid - The impenetrable wall

Kumar Sangakkara's captivating story

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The criminally underrated Younis Khan & the criminal negligence of Ijaz Butt

The esteemed Indian cricket writer and fellow Liverpool fan Dileep Premachandran brought an interesting statistic to our attention on Twitter yesterday.

In illustrating Australia’s batting deficiencies, he highlighted that in an era dominated by batsmen only the discarded Simon Katich has a batting average of over 50 in Tests played since 1 January 2006.

The top ten (minimum qualification ten innings), which is dominated by batsmen from the sub-continent makes interesting reading (see full list here) and in reverse order from 10-3 comprises Misbah-ul-Haq, Sachin Tendulkar, Mahela Jayawardene, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jacques Kallis, Thilan Samaraweera, Jonathan Trott and Mohammad Yousuf.

But it is the identity of the top two that is perhaps the most interesting.

On reflection it is not a huge surprise to see Kumar Sangakkara with a stellar average of 68 at the top of the pile such is the brilliance and consistency of his batting. Moreover, the fact that he had the added challenge of captaining Sri Lanka for most of the period makes his record all the more impressive. Bowlers shouldn’t rest too easy either as if Sangakkara’s return from his most recent series is anything to go by (a defiant 516 runs at 86 against a dominant Pakistan) he is getting better and better.

Nestling just behind Sangakkara in second place is Younis Khan. Yes, the same Younis Khan that was treated so shamefully by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s former idiot-in-chief Ijaz Butt. Younis averages 65 in the period despite being betrayed when captain by a clique led by Shoaib Malik, ostracised by Butt and left out of the side. The fact that he averages over 80 since his return shows up Butt for the utter fool he is – if any further proof was required on that count.

Misbah’s calm captaincy and even calmer presence at the crease is one big reason why England should be wary of their upcoming series with Pakistan. The criminally underrated Younis is another.

England’s post-Ashes celebrations in 2005 were brought crashing down to earth in Pakistan a few weeks later and the newly crowned number one Test side could suffer a similar fate in the UAE against the same opponents in the next couple of months unless they are at the top of their game.

Where next?

Cricket heroes: Younis Khan

Responsibility and Misbah-ul-Haq

The Ten Commandments of Ijaz Butt

Kumar Sangakkara's captivating story of cricket in Sri Lanka

Who should England pick to face Pakistan?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Thilan Samaraweera's raw deal

Who do you think has the best Test average of those that have played at least three matches since New Years Day 2008?

Perhaps surprisingly, it is not Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla or even Jonathan Trott. No, the man who heads the table is that most underrated of cricketers - Thilan Samaraweera.

Samaraweera has scored 2,561 runs in 28 Tests during this period with seven hundreds and an average of 69.21 - only Younis Khan and AB De Villiers average over 60 during the same time.

But this excellent record didn't prevent Samaraweera from being dropped by Sri Lanka after the home series defeat by Australia in August.

Duleep Mendis, Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors, has stated that Samaraweera, who is 35, would not figure in the long-term plans of the selectors who intended to give more opportunities to youngsters.

That is all very laudable, but Sri Lanka can ill-afford to leave someone of Samaraweera's quality, experience and recent record out of the side at the moment. Indeed, there is a sense that they are a side in freefall with no bowler to speak of (Lasith Malinga apart, and he doesn't play Test cricket).

Samaraweera has been belatedly called up to the squad for the daunting looking trip to South Africa, where to be frank one fears for Sri Lanka's ability to make the Test series competitive.

It was ridiculously harsh to drop him and we have no doubt that Sri Lanka will need him over the next few weeks as they rely on Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Samaraweera to keep the effervescent Dale Steyn from running through their batting.

Where next?

Sri Lanka know what they had and they know that it has gone

Kumar Sangakkara's captivating story of cricket in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan cricket heroes: Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan

The ten most poignant cricket memories of 2009

Sachin Tendulkar's 99.94

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Who are cricket's likely future greats?

In a piece on Cricinfo just five months before his death, Peter Roebuck asked Who are cricket's future greats? 

Roebuck concurs that cricket has seen its fair share of great players since the emergence of the formidable West Indies side of the late seventies. He goes on to name  half a dozen current batsmen deserving of the great tag: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting, before adding the caveat that all are within a few years of retirement.

When it comes to bowlers, Roebuck argues that only Dale Steyn is worthy of a place in the pantheon of bowling greats. This is hard to contradict as those closest to Steyn like James Anderson, Graeme Swann and Zaheer Khan would seem to fall into the ‘very good’ rather than ‘great’ category.

We’d concur with Roebuck that of the current crop of batsmen, Hashim Amla seems the most likely candidate to attain greatness in the coming years. His Test career took a while to get into top gear, but his sublime style and appetite for runs has grown and he averages over 70 since the start of 2010. Judging by his recent hundreds against Australia in Cape Town and Johannesburg the best is yet to come.

The past week has thrown up two more fledgling candidates, albeit two at the outset of their careers but whose promise seems unlimited.

A lot of people are getting very excited about Australia’s new fast bowling discovery Patrick Cummins. Even as thoughtful, respected and usually restrained observer like Christopher Martin-Jenkins writes in today’s Times that Cummins is a gem in the mould of Dennis Lillee and Glenn McGrath.

New Australian coach Mickey Arthur also sees comparisons with Steyn and it has to be said that it is hard to recall a more impressive entry into Test cricket than the one made by Cummins in Johannesburg. His six-wicket haul almost single-handedly brought Australia back into the game and more than that it was the manner in which he bowled that marked him as something special. The fact he is only 18, and with just a handful of first-class matches under his belt is mind-boggling. Australia would appear to have found the basis from which to rebuild.

Another to provoke comparison with a recent great is the 22 year old West Indian batsman Darren Bravo, who with back to back centuries in the current series with India has the same batting average and just one run less than Brian Lara at the same stage of his career.

Bravo has reputedly based his batting on Lara and there is no mistaking the panache, style and manner of his fellow Trinidadian at the crease. Of the many promising players that have emerged in the Caribbean such as fellow batsman Kirk Edwards, speedster Kemar Roach and spinner Devendra Bishoo, Bravo stands at the head of the pack. A West Indian resurgence could be in the offing at last.

There are other promising young players – Virat Kohli to name but one, but the positive impression left by Cummins and Bravo in the last week means that they will be the ones to watch most closely over the next few years.

Where next?

Virat Kohli - The (Little) Master's Apprentice

Dale Steyn's formidable statistics

Cricket Heroes: Hashim Amla

The contrarian erudite genius of Peter Roebuck

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Sri Lanka know what they had and they know that it has gone

We're not sure in the case of Sri Lanka that they didn't know what they had until Muttiah Muralitharan had retired and gone, but even they probably didn't realise how bad it would be without their spin genius.

If things carry on as they are, then Sri Lanka's fall from cricket's top table may make the demise of the West Indies look positively pedestrian in comparison.

With no Murali, no Chaminda Vaas and no Lasith Malinga for Test matches, Sri Lanka's bowling attack is about as dangerous as a pack of chihuahuas trying to take on an especially large, vicious and hungry tyrannosaurus rex.

If it wasn't for the fact that in Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka possess two of the finest batsmen of their generation then we would already be talking about the 1996 World Champions in the same breath as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

But for some particularly bad weather in England and a gem of an innings by Sangakkara at the Rose Bowl, the series with England would probably have ended as a whitewash in favour of the home side.

Then a rebuilding Australia built them more comfortably on their home patch then the 1-0 scoreline suggests.

Now they are struggling badly against an improving but still limited Pakistan side with Sangakkara again saving their skins in the 1st Test with a battling double hundred. Their last win came in Murali's final Test at Galle - 13 Tests ago.

Sangakkara himself highlighted that the Sri Lankan board have taken their eye off the ball in recent years and succession planning for the likes of Murali, Vaas, Sangakkara and Jayawardene seems to have been completely forgotten.

The success of Sri Lanka in winning the World Cup and then reaching the last two finals as well as regularly being high up in the ICC rankings for the last 15 years has been a case of David triumphing regularly over Goliath.

Sadly, it seems those giantkilling days are long gone and the future looks very bleak indeed.

Where next?

Kumar Sangakkara's captivating story of cricket in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan cricket heroes: Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan

All hail King Mahela of Colombo

Who writes Muttiah Muralitharan's scripts?

800 wickets for Murali - what a way to go

India and Sri Lanka star in Groundhog Day remake

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The Politics of Cricket

Our latest column on All Out Cricket was inspired in part by Kumar Sangakkara's almost Churchillian MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture where he railed against the "partisan cronies" that have afflicted the Sri Lankan Cricket Board since the glorious World Cup triumph of 1996.

Sadly, the Sri Lankans are not the only ones to suffer from incapable, unqualified and sometimes corrupt administrators - just ask Chris Gayle.

Indeed, ineptness is rife across the globe with the politics of cricket making an episode of The Thick of It seem like the Magic Roundabout in comparison.

Read 'The Thick of It' here and let us know what you think.

Where next?

Kumar Sangakkara's captivating story of cricket in Sri Lanka

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Deciding matches in ODI series

 
We’ve never been keen on having five and especially seven match ODI series.

The exception is when it is all square going into the last game. Everything is up for grabs and the match takes on the feeling of a final.

Much of the cricket in the current England-Sri Lanka series has been poor but after two crushing victories for each side, today sees an all to play for decider at Old Trafford.

Will Cook continue to do a passable impersonation of Virender Sehwag? Will Stuart Broad finally put in a good performance this summer? And will Kumar Sangakkara pause prematurely during his innings and regale the watching supporters with more of his Churchillian oratory?

All will be revealed later on today.

And it isn’t it nice to see an international at Old Trafford again?

Where next?

See if you agree with our other County Championship XIs of the week

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Kumar Sangakkara's captivating story of cricket in Sri Lanka

 
There are intelligent and articulate sportsmen and women (and cricket has produced more than its fair share), and then there is Kumar Sangakkara whose words are as equally silky and smooth as his wonderfully graceful cover drives.

We have just finished listening to the riveting MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture he delivered at Lord’s on Monday evening and thoroughly recommend that everyone else should too.

King Kumar’s story of Sri Lanka and how cricket slipped “through the crack in our anti-western defences and has now become the most precious heirloom of our British Colonial inheritance” is a truly fascinating one.

He provided vivid and horrific detail of the civil war that plagued the beautiful island paradise for 30 years and how the stunning win in the 1996 World Cup enabled cricket to become a unifying force for all Sri Lankan people irrespective of background, ethnicity and religion.

Sangakkara also spoke of the horrors of the Tsunami and praised Muttiah Muralitharan in particular for his heroic and instrumental role in organising relief and then rebuilding shattered communities and villages.

We enjoyed the humour that infused the lecture such as when he amusingly described Arjuna Ranatunga as a “slightly over-weight and unfit southpaw” when detailing how his leadership inspired the World Cup win of 1996.

Sangakkara even manages to instil humour into his gripping retelling of the Lahore terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus as the following extract from his speech powerfully demonstrates:

'Tharanga Paranvithana, on his debut tour, is also next to me. He stands up, bullets flying all around him, shouting “I have been hit” as he holds his blood-soaked chest. He collapsed onto his seat, apparently unconscious.

I see him and I think: “Oh my God, you were out first ball, run out the next innings and now you have been shot. What a terrible first tour.” '

Wonderful stuff. To be harrowing and amusing at the same time takes some skill.

Predictably, much of the reporting of the lecture has been on Sangakkara’s damning words about the Sri Lankan Cricket Board and the unwelcome interference of the country’s Sports Minister.

He certainly doesn’t hold back as he eloquently details how accountability and transparency has been replaced by partisan cronies, corruption and a wanton waste of board finances and resources.

The real reason for his resignation of the captaincy becomes clear when he challenges the administrators to adopt the same values of the team: integrity, transparency, commitment and discipline. He also calls on the ICC to suspend boards with direct detrimental political interference and allegations of corruption and mismanagement.

Sadly but not unsurprisingly, Sri Lankan Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has already ordered a probe into the lecture so Sangakkara looks like he will have to face the consequences for his frank honesty and strong words.

Kumar Sangakkara – a credit to himself, his sport and above all his country. We salute him as a true cricketing hero.

Where next?

Sri Lankan cricket heroes: Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan

The best Test XI of 2010

Our best XI of the 2011 World Cup

All hail King Mahela of Colombo

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3rd Test Preview: The Rose Bowl - Will England flower at their newest Test venue?

 
The criticism directed at England following the draw at Lord’s shows just how far that they have come since the Strauss-Flower axis was hastily convened in early 2009.

Four series victories on the trot, home and away Ashes triumphs, seven rubbers unbeaten and five wins by an innings in their seven prior Tests to Lord’s all meant that England had set an extremely high bar.

So it is perhaps understandable (albeit a little harsh), that a mixture of a below par performance by the bowlers, the weather, a benign pitch and a brilliant knock by Dilshan led to much muttering and grumbling in the press as England drew a Test for the first time since Brisbane last November.

Nevertheless, many of the ingredients of England’s success over the last two years were on show at Lord’s. The recovery from 22/3 on the first morning to post a decent 486 showed the quality and resolve of a team that bat deep. Similarly, the comeback from the bowlers to dismiss Sri Lanka for 479 after they had been 370/2 demonstrated that this is a side that is always likely to bowl the opposition out.

The record under Strauss and Flower now stands at an impressive 16 wins, 10 draws and only five defeats. There will be the occasional blip like Lord’s (Perth, The Oval last summer against Pakistan and Johannesburg being others), but the overall curve of performance certainly continues to be upward.

With India lying in wait later in the summer, England will hope to mark the Rose Bowl’s first Test match with a resounding victory to seal the series and continue the march to their goal of being the number one ranked Test side.

If the weather holds, a Sri Lankan side without Dilshan and a bowling attack that looks distinctly county level would appear to be ripe for the taking.

Likely line-ups

With the return of James Anderson, the only question mark for England is whether it is Broad or Finn that drops out – we had our say on that one yesterday.

Sangakkara steps in as captain for Sri Lanka just two months after resigning from the job following the World Cup. 21 year old Lahiru Thirimanne comes in for his Test bow to replace Dilshan at the top of the order. The combination of bowlers that will be picked awaits to be seen - not that it will probably matter too much

Look out for…

Kevin Pietersen returns to the Rose Bowl for the first time since a fairly acrimonious ending to his five year stint at Hampshire, during which time he was seen less often than Haley’s Comet. England need Pietersen fully firing for the clash with India, so will be hoping that his confidence boosting 72 in the 2nd innings at Lord’s augers for more runs here. Let’s hope he can find his way from Chelsea.

With the exception of the odd glorious cover drive on one knee, Kumar Sangakkara has had a distinctly mediocre series to date. However, he averages over 70 as captain, so perhaps his temporary return to the helm will spark an uplift in form. He warmed up with a hundred against Essex last week, so get ready for plenty of champagne moments to mark the Rose Bowl’s debut as a Test ground.

Previously at the Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl becomes the tenth Test venue in England and Wales, having previously staged 12 ODIs and two T20Is. England will hope that the ground will inspire a summer as memorable as that of 2005 when the first clash with Australia in a T20 match at the Rose Bowl saw England triumph by 100 runs after bowling out the tourists for just 79.

Stat attack

Many of England’s batsmen are having glorious runs with the bat at the moment. We compared the stunning figures of Cook, Trott and Bell in favourable terms to Pippa Middleton’s derriere last week. But aside from the odd smashed window, Matt Prior is on an impressive streak too. Starting with a scratchy 93 against Bangladesh at Old Trafford last summer, England’s keeper averages 59 in his last 12 Tests with a Gilchristesque strike rate of just under 70.

When you look at the collective career stats of the Sri Lankan bowling attack at Lord’s it is hardly surprising that they struggle to bowl opposing sides out. Combined they have played 95 Tests and have 226 wickets at an average of 42 and a strike rate of a wicket every 73.3 balls. Have two cricketers ever been missed by a team as much as Murali and Chaminda Vaas?  

Prediction      

The weather forecast does not bode well, but if there is enough play over the five days it is difficult to see anything other than an England win to wrap up the series.

Where next?

2nd Test, Lord's: England marks out of 10

1st Test, Cardiff: England marks out of 10

Matt Prior's Desert Island Discs

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

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2nd Test Preview: Lord's - Imperious England target series win

 
As we wrote earlier in the week in some ways it was no great surprise that England shot Sri Lanka out for 82 on the final afternoon in Cardiff, given that it was the fifth time in the last ten Tests that they have bowled the opposition out for under 100.

Even as typical glass half-full England supporters, it is time for the Reverse Sweep to confidently (this is not hubris you understand) state that England have an embarrassment of riches at the moment.

Cook, Trott and Bell are in the form of their lives and plundering runs for fun. Swann is indisputably the best spinner in the world and to top it all off, Chris Tremlett has been transformed from a meek, awkward and inconsistent fast bowler into the new Curtly Ambrose. Indeed, England are so strong that they can even afford to carry Pietersen and do without their best bowler Anderson.

England also has a bench that is comparable in strength to Barcelona’s with the likes of Finn, Panesar and Bopara all ready to come in if required. The youth team also has immense promise with James Taylor, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid (eventually) all likely to have long Test careers.

Moving back to the 2nd Test at Lord’s, it will be fascinating to see if Sri Lanka can recover with such a short turnaround time from Cardiff. The bowling was shockingly impotent and some of the shots that the batsmen got out to during the collapse were tantamount to dereliction of duty. If Sri Lanka are to get anything out of the match then the bowling will need to be more penetrating (could it be less?) and their star batsmen Sangakkara and Jayawardene will need to produce substantially more than the 44 runs they managed in total at Cardiff.

England on the other hand will be supremely confident of getting the victory they need to secure the series and continue their impressive march towards the summit meeting with India later in the summer.

Likely line-ups

With Anderson injured, the only change in the England XI will see the return of Finn ahead of Jade Dernbach.

Wholesale changes are likely to the Sri Lankan bowling attack with Fernando, Welegedara and Randiv all coming into contention. Coach Stuart Law will also be casting envious eyes towards Northampton where the legendary Chaminda Vaas has just taken a 10 wicket Championship haul against Glamorgan. If another batsman is required, expect Dinesh Chamdimal, who has a first-class average of over 60, to make his Test bow.

Look out for…

Chris Tremlett will be relishing the chance to get stuck into the Sri Lankan batting line-up again after his exploits on Monday. He’s always had the talent, but now seems to have finally acquired the fitness, luck, aggression and most importantly confidence to fully exhibit his wares. Expect him to continue making up for lost time at Lord’s.

Mahela Jayawardene was one of the few to not give his wicket away on Monday and he is too good a batsman not to produce something special at some point during this series. Lord’s the scene of one of his greatest innings in 2006 (and another century in 2002) seems an apt place for this most regal of batsmen to shine.

Previously at Lord’s

2006 – Match drawn

All appeared to be going to plan as England enforced the follow-on after dismissing the tourists for 192 in reply to their 551 for 6 declared. But skipper Jayawardene led the spirited resistance with 119 as Sri Lanka batted out 199 overs for an improbable draw. Replacement captain Flintoff got his sums completely wrong, bowling himself for 51 overs and Hoggard for 46 whilst only using Panesar for 27 overs (despite him taking 2/49 and dismissing two of the top three).  

2002 – Match drawn

This three match series was the first time that Sri Lanka had played more than the solitary Test in England. They started well by getting the better of a drawn opening test at Lord’s. They won the toss and racked up 555/8 declared with Atapattu (185) and Jayawardene (107) both scoring hundreds before dismissing England for 275 and enforcing the follow on. England did what Sri Lanka were to do four years later by batting for 191 overs to post 529/5 declared. Vaughan and Butcher both scored hundreds. This was as good as it got for Sri Lanka as England powered to a 2-0 series win.

Prediction

Sri Lanka to improve but England to secure the series with a comfortable win and Pietersen to score a hundred.

Where next?

England bowling out Sri Lanka for 82 is not such a big surprise

1st Test, Cardiff: England marks out of 10

Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott are just like Barcelona

Cricket Heroes: Jack Hobbs

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The England-Sri Lanka series features four of the best 22 Test batsmen ever

 
That’s quite some statement and one that most cricket aficionados would vehemently (and quite understandably) disagree with.

However, if we take averages as our sole (and rather misleading) barometer and set the qualification criteria at a minimum of 20 Test innings, the 1st Test at Cardiff does feature statistically at least four of the best 22 batsmen in the history of the game (see full list here).

In 22nd place is Mahela Jayawardene, who averages 53.82 from his 117 Tests.

Four places higher is Thilan Samaraweera, the current cricketer with the largest amount of shrapnel in their body. He averages 54.25 from 64 Tests.

Then moving past the likes of legends like Hutton, Hobbs and Tendulkar, we reach 12th place where Kumar Sangakkara averages 57.25 from 95 Tests.

But, top of the pile and behind only Bradman in the pantheon (as far as averages go at least) is Bob Willis’s favourite batsman Jonathan Trott, who will have to go some this summer to maintain or improve upon an average of 61.53 from his 19 Tests.

Only five batsmen in Test history who have more than 20 innings average over 60: Bradman, Graeme Pollock, George Headley, Herbert Sutcliffe and for the time being Trott.

As Mark Twain so rightly said “there are lies, damned lies and statistics”.

Where next?

1st Test: Cardiff - Preview: England reach for the feel good hit of summer

Seven reasons why England should not underestimate Sri Lanka

The 30 Greatest Batsmen Ever: Part 1 (30-21), Part 2 (20-11), Part 3 (10-1)

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

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1st Test: Cardiff - Preview: England reach for the feel good hit of summer

 
The first Test of the English summer has always been an historic event and this year is no different as England embark on their first Test action since that wonderful Ashes triumph down under.

We’ve already written why Sri Lanka should not be underestimated, but talk of England's quest to become the number one Test side in the world shows no sign of abating.

Even Sri Lankan coach Stuart Law has been at it saying that over the last eighteen months “I believe England are the best team in Test cricket”. Whether he truly means that or if it is simply a case of Law getting his excuses in early awaits to be seen.

Certainly, we will know a lot more about how close England are to achieving their goal by the end of the summer given that current top ranked side India visit English shores for a four test series after Sri Lanka have departed.

India are yet to lose a series in eleven under the leadership of MS Dhoni, but England also have a long unbeaten run stretching back to the Caribbean in 2009 where the first series of the Strauss-Flower axis was lost. Since then the pair have overseen home and away wins over Australia and Bangladesh, as well as home victories over Pakistan and West Indies and a creditable drawn series in South Africa.

But India can wait for now as the series with Sri Lanka promises to be a tasty and intriguing hors d’oeuvre.

Likely line-ups

Now that the Morgan vs Bopara contest has been settled in favour of England’s adopted Irishman, the only question mark over England’s final XI is between Chris Tremlett and Steve Finn. In our view, it is the Surrey giant who should get the nod to build on his pivotal role in the last three Ashes Tests.

Things are not so clear with the Sri Lankan line-up. Nuwan Pradeep has gone home with injury and there is a doubt over Dilhara Fernando. Farveez Maharoof, who has been called into the squad from Lancashire will probably play.

Look out for…

As usual a lot of the focus in the build-up to the Test has been on Kevin Pietersen, with some in the media suggesting that he could be dropped for India if he fails to shine. Pietersen has said that he has got the bug back, so the RS expects him to build on a successful Ashes series where he averaged over 60 and hit that magnificent double hundred at Adelaide.

It will be interesting to see how Tillakaratne Dilshan fares as Sri Lanka’s new captain. He has made a good start with two wins and a hundred in each of the warm-up games. He has the experience of former captains Sangakkara and Jayawardene to call upon should he need it, but even so it will be a real test to see how he works with what is an inexperienced and largely unproven bowling attack.

Previously at Cardiff

This is only the second Test to be held at Sophia Gardens, and this Test will have to go a long way to match the finish of the inaugural Test in 2009 where Paul Collingwood, Monty Panesar and James Anderson memorably led England’s Great Escape against Australia.

Sri Lanka’s record in England is two wins, three draws and four defeats from nine matches, with both wins (The Oval 1998 and Trent Bridge 2006) being engineered by Muralitharan. How they fare without their spin genius, is just one of the many posers of what promises to be a fascinating series.

Stat attack

Kumar Sangakkara is criminally underrated despite a Test average of over 57. His stats are even more impressive when he doesn’t have the added burden of keeping wicket - a Bradmanesque 76.52 from 46 Tests sans gloves.

Since being rested from the tour of Bangladesh in early 2010, James Anderson has taken 56 wickets at 20.78 in 11 Tests. With a strong battery of quicks to call upon, expect rest and rotation to become a feature of England’s selection over the summer.

Prediction

Earlier this week, we had a hunch that this could be Sri Lanka’s match, but with the pitch likely to favour the batsmen and rain forecast throughout the game, the draw seems the most likely result.

Where next?

Seven reasons why England should not underestimate Sri Lanka

Read all the excerpts of KP's Summer of Cricket Diary

10 reasons why Ian Botham may have worn sunglasses at the premiere of 'From the Ashes'

Eoin Morgan has got "it"

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Seven reasons why England should not underestimate Sri Lanka

 
When reading some of the build-up to the Test series in the media, anyone would think that England are facing Bangladesh or Zimbabwe instead of what we at The Reverse Sweep believe is a very good Sri Lankan side.

Here are seven reasons why we believe it is dangerous to underestimate Tillakaratne Dilshan’s team:

King Kumar isn’t wearing the gloves

Kumar Sangakkara has a claim to being one of the most underrated batsmen in world cricket despite a Test average of over 57. An already excellent record becomes positively Bradmanesque when he isn’t keeping wicket. In 46 Tests without the gloves, King Kumar averages 76.52. Be afraid England, be very afraid.

Dilshan seems to have taken to the captaincy

Responsibility can inspire some whilst breaking others. The early signs are that Dilshan is more likely to be inspired than broken. Two warm-ups and two centuries: 123 off 134 balls before retiring against Middlesex and 117 off 110 following-on against a strong Lions bowling line-up of Finn, Dernbach, Onions and Shahzad.

Batting Princes

Sangakkara and Dilshan are but two of a very strong batting line-up. Mahela Jayawardene, Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera all have Test averages of 54 or over. Dilshan has been a revelation since moving up to open, and Dinesh Chandimal and Tharanga Paranavitana are also decent cricketers. If England’s much vaunted bowling attack shows any signs of rustiness then expect batsmen of this calibre to tuck in.  

They’ve got the winning habit

Despite starting badly in both warm-up matches, Sri Lanka showed great tenacity and togetherness to fight back to beat both Middlesex and then the Lions. They followed on 227 runs behind the Lions only to score 448 in their 2nd innings and then dismiss a strong batting line-up for 183 to win by 38 runs. All this suggests that Sri Lanka are no pushovers and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if they were to win at least one of the three Tests.

Sri Lanka like playing in England in May

Contrary to the impression given by many in the media, Sri Lanka are unlikely to flounder on early-season English wickets. For a start the weather has been unseasonably warm and sunny this year, and in any case on their last trip to these shores in 2006 when the series also started in May, Sri Lanka fought like tigers to draw at Lord’s before winning at Trent Bridge to square the series.

They won’t miss Malinga that much

Whilst Sri Lanka will undoubtedly miss Murali and the balance provided by Angelo Mathews, we’re not so sure that Malinga’s absence will be much of a handicap. Malinga has only played two Tests since 2007 and Sri Lanka has managed very nicely thank you. The likes of Dilhara Fernando, Thisara Perera and Nuwan Pradeep (if fit) are much better than the billing afforded them by many in the English media. Just ask the Lions batsmen.

There’s always Chaminda

If their seamers do struggle or fall victim to injury, then Sri Lanka have an emergency measure close by in Chaminda Vaas. The great left-arm quick is having a pretty good season with 19 wickets to help Northamptonshire top Division 2. He may have retired from international cricket, but no doubt he could be persuaded to make one final encore.

Where next?

Making match fixing allegations in cricket the modern way starring Hashan Tillakaratne 

The ten most poignant cricket memories of 2009

Cricket Heroes: Aravinda de Silva

Cricket Heroes: Sanath Jayasuriya

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Our best XI of the 2011 World Cup

 
As the celebrations in India doubtless continue, it is time to select our Reverse Sweep World Cup 2011 XI based on performances over the six years weeks of the tournament:

Virender Sehwag (380 runs at 47.50, 1 100, 1 50, SR 122.58)

He may not have scored as many as others, but the impact of his runs was the most dramatic. In our view, Sehwag’s whirlwind cameo in the semi-final in the end proved the difference between the sides.

Tillakaratne Dilshan (500 runs at 62.50, 2 100s, 2 50s, SR 90.74; 8 wickets at 15.75 ER 4.06)

The tournament’s leading run scorer takes his place as the apprentice in our opening partnership to Sehwag’s sorcerer. Dilshan’s bowling was more than useful too – just ask Andrew Strauss – and he ended up with only one fewer wicket and a better economy rate than Harbhajan Singh.

Sachin Tendulkar (482 runs at 53.55, 2 100s, 2 50s, SR 91.98)

Is it sacrilegious to push the Little Master down the order to accommodate our choice of opening partnership? Maybe, but Tendulkar is clearly good enough to bat anywhere and is the ultimate team man. His longevity is astounding.

Kumar Sangakkara (465 runs at 93.00, 1 100, 3 50s, SR 83.78)

King Kumar was serenity personified throughout the tournament and he captains our side (although it was a wrench to leave out Dhoni). Is there a more underrated batsman in world cricket?

Mahela Jayawardene (304 runs at 50.66, 2 100s, 1 50, SR 100.00)

His impeccable hundred in the final leapfrogged Jayawardene above AB De Villiers in our XI. A great strike rate and but for the prolific Sri Lankan top three restricting his time at the crease, would have scored more runs in the tournament.

Yuvraj Singh (362 runs at 90.50, 1 100, 4 50s, SR 90.50; 15 wickets at 25.13, ER 5.02)

Lazarus. A cricketer reborn. And a decent pick as the player of the tournament. Yuvraj left his annus horribilis of 2010 behind to take the World Cup by the scruff of the neck. Without his masterful composure in the quarter-final against Australia, India would have suffered an ignominious exit. Also proved to be more than the pie chucker he was famously tagged by Kevin Pietersen.

Shahid Afridi (21 wickets at 12.85, ER 3.62; 84 runs at 12.00)

His batting was dire, but his excitable captaincy and devastating leg breaks galvanised Pakistan and propelled them to the semi-finals. He may not have added to his wicket tally in Mohali, but his incredible haul and impressive economy rate mean his selection for this side was automatic.

Dale Steyn (12 wickets at 16.00, ER 4.15)

This lionheart deserved better than to be part of a fragile side that reverted to type in the quarter-final against New Zealand. Others may have opted for Brett Lee, Umar Gul, Tim Southee or Kemar Roach who all had impressive tournaments, but none of these could have turned the game around against India as Steyn did in their group game.

Zaheer Khan (21 wickets at 18.76, ER 4.83)

Tied with Afridi as the tournament’s leading wicket taker and initially carried the Indian attack on his shoulders until his influence had a more positive effect on those around him in the knockout stages. Equally as dangerous at the start, middle and end of an innings and a master of reverse swinging the white ball.

Lasith Malinga (13 wickets at 20.76, ER 5.54)

Malinga was expensive at times, but was always a threat with that unplayable yorker and subtle changes of speed. So close to being the hero in the final when snaring Sehwag and Tendulkar, and always likely to get you a wicket.

Muttiah Muralitharan (15 wickets at 19.40, ER 4.09)

The final proved a match too far for Murali’s battered and bruised body, but even on one leg Murali still had a stunningly influential World Cup and the departing hero just pips Imran Tahir and Ray Price for the final spot in our XI.

Where next?

Who writes Muttiah Muralitharan's scripts?

The renaissance of Yuvraj Singh

An XI of unlikely World Cup heroes and a not so heroic 12th man

Bruce Springsteen was born to run, MS Dhoni was born to lead

Read all our 2011 World Cup posts here

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Sri Lanka vs India in the World Cup Final - Preview and Prediction

 
Back before the World Cup started, which seems like 1995, The Reverse Sweep predicted that India and Sri Lanka would meet in the final - see the links at the bottom of this post if you don't believe us!

It’s not often we get things right here at The Reverse Sweep, so the fact that we did on this occasion leaves us feeling slightly too smug and self-satisfied.

Even Bollywood couldn’t have scripted it any better: Sachin Tendulkar will go for his 100th international hundred in the World Cup final in his home city of Mumbai whilst Muttiah Muralitharan plays his final international match.

So who will be smiling come Saturday evening? Sachin or Murali?

We tipped Sri Lanka to win the trophy beforehand and the form of their top four means we could end up being right. Dilshan is the leading run scorer in the tournament and Sangakkara and Tharanga are fourth and fifth respectively. If the top four don't fire though, there isn't much to follow.

Sangakkara also has the most balanced attack in the competition available with Malinga’s pace and yorkers dovetailing with the wily spin of Murali, Mendis and co.

However, Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the final – and even though cricketwithballs will doubtless claim that because he doesn’t exist, it won’t matter; Mathews is actually a key member of the side.

Although India have an injury concern with Nehra, they look in good shape coming into the final. But can they cope with the added pressure of winning on home soil – something no other host in World Cup history has achieved?

Sachin and Sehwag are crucial for them. If Sachin does register his 100th hundred the other players will visibly relax, and if Sehwag gets going then Sri Lanka will be in real trouble especially with the likes of an in-form Yuvraj to follow.

India’s bowling has been a bit hit and miss, but was much improved in the semi-final and Zaheer Khan is an inspirational leader of the attack.

It will probably come down to the fine margins and the toss could prove crucial – without stating the bleeding obvious, chasing under lights to win a World Cup would be a tall order for either side if the other has put decent runs on the board.

But we’ll stick with our original prediction and tip Murali to win the day over Sachin – whatever happens, let’s hope it’s a classic.

Where next?

India: Glory or effigies?

Sri Lanka: Will lightning strike twice?

An XI of unlikely World Cup heroes and a not so heroic 12th man

The renaissance of Yuvraj Singh

Read all our 2011 World Cup posts here

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World Cup Team Previews: Sri Lanka – Can lightning strike twice?

 
Most people have India down as favourites to win the World Cup, but it was Sri Lanka who lifted the trophy the last time the competition was held on the sub-continent. If King Kumar’s team win Group A then they could play all their matches at home right up until the final in Mumbai. So, can lightning strike twice? And will it be Murali rather than Tendulkar who is the all-time great that bows out of ODI cricket with a World Cup winners medal?

Strengths

It’s a long list, but here goes. Firstly, they will play most of their matches at home where they have a formidable record. Then there is the explosive batting of Dilshan, Sangakkara and Jayawardene, the balance provided by Mathews and a strong and varied bowling attack led by Malinga and Murali.

Weaknesses

Expectation is much higher than in 1996, so none of the other teams will underestimate Sri Lanka this time. Malinga’s injury record isn’t great and with Vaas gone, who will lead the attack if the man with the unplayable yorker is missing?

Main man

In 1996 it was Sanath Jayasuriya who lit the tournament up with this electric batting, so we’ll go for his successor Tillakaratne Dilshan. With him providing quick runs at the top of the order, the powerful middle order can fill their boots afterwards.

Look out for…

Some big hitting from Angelo Mathews – his name may be more suited to Aussie soap Home & Away, but expect to see him adding plenty of quickfire runs in the latter overs.

Prediction

Winners – Indian hearts were broken by Sri Lanka in the semi-final in 1996, and The Reverse Sweep predicts the same thing will happen - only this time in the final.

Where next?

World Cup Team previews: Part 1 - India: Glory or effigies?

World Cup Team Previews: Part 2 - South Africa: Don't mention the 'C' word...

World Cup Team Previews: Part 3 - Bangladesh: Shock & Awe

World Cup Team Previews: Part 4 - West Indies: Calypso or Collapso?

World Cup Team Previews: Part 5 - England: How far can resilience take them?

World Cup Team Previews: Part 6 - Ireland/Canada/Kenya/Netherlands: Last chance for the minnows?

World Cup Team Previews: Part 7 - Zimbabwe - An army of spin

World Cup Team Previews: Part 8 - Australia: Four in a row?

World Cup Team Previews: Part 9 - Pakistan: Tigers or Pussies?

Our XI to shine at the World Cup

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes including Muttiah Muralitharan

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