Batsmen must get accustomed to playing on bouncier wickets quickly Arjuna Ranatunga
``PLAYING ON bouncy South African tracks could be a tough exercise and it is important that the batsmen should get accustommed to the surface as quickly as possible so that there won't be a big issue of it'', said Arjuna Ranatunga the Sri Lanka captain at a practice session at the NCC nets in preparation of the South African cricket tour.
Sri Lanka will be leaving for South Africa on March 3rd and will play two Tests and a triangular limited over series with the host South Africa and Pakistan till the 23rd of April.
After three side games, thre first Test will commence on March 19, goes on till 23 at Johannesburg and subsequently the second Test on March 27 to 31 at Centurion Park.
The triangular limited-over series against Pakistan and South Africa will begin on April 3 with South Africa meeting Pakistan in a day/night match at Durban.
Sri Lankans have played on bouncy wickets in Australia but in South Africa the pitches are bouncier, and the quicker they get accustomed to it the better they could perform.
The former South African batsman Barry Richards who had a brief stay in the island, has imparted his knowledge on the behaviour of South African pitches and various other aspects which will no doubt be useful to the players.
Ranatunga was critical of the so called 'pundits' who condemn the pitches prepared here for Test matches.
``We do not get pitches to our liking when we play in other parts of the world. When we go to Australia, New Zealand or South Africa and lose badly, they will criticise the players, but none will talk about the pitches that we had to play. This is the typical Sri Lankan mentality , so we are not bothered of these things. What we do right is the most important factor and we'll try to do it well'', Ranatunga said.
Referring to the touring team, Ranatunga said that it is the best possible, side taking into consideration the country in which they are going to perform. * Shultz - the wrecker
Sri Lanka has met South Africa in a Test series only once at home in 1993. South Africa won the three-match series 1-0, beating Sri Lanaka by a big margin in the Test match played at the SSC grounds. Left-arm paceman Bret Shultz was the wrecker in chief. Shultz made only sparodic appearences thereafter due to injury.
In the second Test at the Moratuwa Stadium, Sri Lanka was denied of a win as Jonty Rhodes struck a century for the visitors. For Sri Lanka, Arjuna Ranatunga scored a superb century. Sri Lanka also took part in the Nelson Mandela limited-over championship in 1994 in South Africa.
Cricket Manager Dulip Mendis said that the tour was a very important one. ``In fact every tour is important but there is something special playing in South Africa because of the different types of wickets , and a good side like South Africa who are considered to be a strong cricketing nation. Everybody will be looking forward to see how we perform under those conditions and it is important that we do well there.''
Mendis, too, agreed that Barry Richards' brief stay with the team was valuable. He disclosed how to react in different situations and also had a close look at the finer points of the batting techniques and spoke about South Africa on the whole.
Talking about bouncy pitches, Mendis, too, had the same opinion as Ranatunga.
``The players will have to adopt themselves accordingly. It was the case in Australia too but they performed well.'' * Forte - batting
Mendis further said that Sri Lanka's forte was batting. ``Our batting is much stronger, but they have the edge on the bowling. Fielding is something that we are working on. The same team was a very good fielding side some months back but at present the same thing cannot be said. We are concentrating very hard on it, so that like in the past, we could match any side in the world in this department.''
Coming on to team selection where Mendis himself is the chairman of the committee he said that emphasis was laid more on experience than experimenting with players.
``Experience counts a lot specially in South Africa. You cannot take chances. We had to think a lot and have lengthly discussions over the subject and finally came to a conclusion that seasoned campaigners should go'', said Mendis.
Mendis said that everybody is talking of Hashan Tillekeratna's form. ``Any batsman has a bad patch like Tillekeratne who is having it at the moment. I had it, Arjuna, Aravinda and Roshan had to go through it. But I have no doubt about Tillekeratna's ability. It will be only just a matter of time for him to get things on the right track.''
When asked, Mendis said that as so much of speculation has been made these days on Test match pitch preparation one day there could be a possibility of a panel of neutral curators to prepare a fair cricket pitch for either side. He said that very soon there could be two neutral umpires, along with the match referee,third umpire etc. * Tour itinerary
March 3rd departure.
March 7, 8, 9 vs Transvaal at Johannesburg. Wednesday March 11. Vs North West Province Day/night at Fochville. Saturday March 14, 15, 16, Vs Boland at Paarl. March 19 Thursday to 23. First test at Cape Town. March 27 Friday to 31 Second Test at Centurion Park. * Triangular series
April 3rd South Africa Vs Pakistan D/N at Durban. Sunday April 5th South Africa vs Sri Lanka at Johannesburg (Day), April 7 Tuesday. Sri Lanka vs Pakistan d/n Kimberley. April 9 Thursday. Sri Lanka vs Pakistan d\n Paarl. April 11 Saturday South Africa Vs Pakistan (Day) East London. April 13 Monday . South Africa Vs Sri Lanka (Day) Port Elizabeth. April 15 Wednesday. Sri Lanka vs Pakistan d/n at Benoni. April 17 Friday South Africa vs Pakistan d\n. at Centurion Park. April 19 Sunday South Africa vs Sri Lanka (Day) at Bloemfontien. April 22 Wednesday Final (d/n) Thursday 23 (final alternate day).
Sri Lankan cricketers on tour
The tour squad: Arjuan Ranatunga (capt), Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Roshan Mahanama, Hashan Tillekeratne, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Kumara Dharmasena, Muttiah Muralitheran, Chaminda Vaas, Ravindra Pushpakumar, Sajeewa de Silva, Mahela Jayawardena, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana and Pramodaya Wickremasinghe.