The change in world cricket order?
One of the hallmarks of Sri Lanka’s victory over New Zealand in the recently concluded Test series is the precision with which the Island nation has gone about their business on the field and with a precision that is matched by the best in the world. This precision has seen their Test ranking skyrocket to give them the number two spot in the ICC rankings.
However, before Sangakkara and his boys bask on their glory, they ought to remember that a world-class team not only wins on their home turf but also ensures that the victory march is continued on all parts of the world.
One has to clearly mention that Sri Lankan attack has always been found wanting in each of its tours Down Under, a place where teams such as India and South Africa have put up commendable performances in the last 5-6 years.
Also, Sri Lanka has not perfected the art of winning consistently in places such as Australia and South Africa — two nations that pose the maximum to the techniques of any batsmen
The presence of Samaraweera, Dilshan, Mahela in the middle-order lends a lot of solidity to the team but their techniques will be questioned on pitches that offer bounce and lateral movement, especially in Australia and in South Africa.
Despite the presence of Ajantha Mendis for the last two seasons, one can sense the tension in the opposition team’s face when they see Muttiah Muralitharan’s name in the team list. Murali still spins the ball big and manages to get a four or five wickets purchase in every Test.
But the biggest change in this Sri Lankan team has been their performance as a team, a lesson which Australia seems to have forgotten and hence lost the urn to the Englishmen in the recently concluded Ashes.
Sri Lanka and England are two sides to watch out for in the next couple of years as they have performed exceedingly well as a team and that quality has seen them notch wins.
One of the big reasons for Australia’s loss is the juniors not showcasing enough maturity when it was required. Even as Jonathan Trott from England notched up a debut hundred at Brit Oval, Australia’s Phil Hughes was seen unable to cope up with the pressure and is now wanting to meet Sachin Tendulkar to rectify the error.
While Mitchell Johnson, Marcus North, Nathan Hauritz performed well in patches, Stuart Broad, Graham Onions and not to mention Trott made themselves counted and that has led to Ponting becoming just the second Australian captain to have lost the Ashes two times in a row in England — a record which will haunt till his grave.
Both Sri Lanka and England have a tough job to do to keep the momentum going because to reach the top of the table — winning needs to be a habit and there definitely cannot be a choice in this matter.
