So. Sri Lanka once again at the embarrassing end of a 2-0 series result. Sure, there were injuries but it was not as much a plague as was the case in South Africa a few weeks ago. Indeed, some may have entertained legitimate hopes that Sri Lanka would square the series at the end of the third day’s play.
A 1-0 loss was highly unlikely given the amount of time left in the game (almost 6 sessions) when Sri Lanka went to bat a second time with a slender lead. England had to bat last. It all came down to crease-occupation. There were loads of time left. Bat out day four and see where you are, go for quick runs, declare (or get yourself all out) and back your three spinners on a tricky wicket — the simplicity of formulas have to be obtained on the ground, though.
The batsmen seemed to have fallen in love with the pavilion — they came out of the hatch and scurried back in as though a few minutes in the sun would bring on a stroke. They left a lot of questions out there in Galle. They themselves have to answer as do the management, selectors and coaching staff. That’s for later and for those who know the subject.
Sure there were some encouraging performances: Angie’s century, Dikwella’s highest test score, Dilruwan’s half-century and a decent first innings score was what probably made some people believe that Sri Lanka had a good chance of winning the test. These and of course Lasith Embuldeniya’s 7 wicket haul. He would eventually get a 10-for in the match. We can talk about consolation prizes, but this is not the moment.
It’s a take from something that Andrew Fidel Fernando, in his inimitable way, wrote or rather quoted in a cricinfo piece, ‘Lasith Embuldeniya's unsexy virtues put him on the right path.’ Here’s the quote:
It probably doesn't help that in true slow left-arm style, he comes to press conferences after his most successful haul ever, and gives answers like this: "Thanks for your question. I've done a lot of spot bowling and that's how I've improved little by little. In the match I bowled line and length and made small, small variations. There was help from the wicket. I landed the ball on the same spot and hoped the wicket would do the rest.”
Let’s throw in some numbers. Lasith bore the brunt of the bowling. His 7 for 137 in the first innings were off 42 overs (the rest of the bowling attack accounted for 74 overs of which Dilruwan Perera bowled 32. In the second innings he bowled 20 of the 43 overs that England needed for a 6 wicket win and a 2-0 series win. He took three wickets for 73 runs.
The lesson is ‘application.’ It’s about focusing. It’s about figuring out the particular ‘spot’ and keeping one’s eyes on it. For Lasith, it’s about line and length. For, say, Dinesh Chandimal (in the second innings) ‘the spot’ could have been ‘the determination to play a risk free innings.’ Well, that could be applied to all the frontline batsmen. Ironically, Embuldeniya coming in at No 10, top scored with 40 (the next highest was Ramesh Mendia, who got just 16 runs). Lasith spared Sri Lanka some (but not all) blushes. Yes, that’s another story.
‘The spot.’ Joe Root obviously knew what ‘the spot’ relevant to him was in the first innings. It was not going to be easy, but he put a price on his wicket. A high price. James Anderson knew his ‘spot.’ He took 6 wickets for 40 off 29 overs, of which no less than 20 were maidens. Accuracy. Persistence. Patience. Relentlessness. The hard yards. Call it whatever you want, all these things are spot-things, so to speak.
Sri Lanka was ‘spotless’ and in this case that’s not something to cheer.
Other articles in the series titled 'The Interception' [published in 'The Morning']
Do you have a plan? Strengths and weaknesses It's all about partnerships
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