GALLE - Tillekaratne Dilshan vows to replicate the deeds of unconventional opening batsmen Chris Gayle and Virender Sehwag in New Zealand last summer when Sri Lanka start their quest for back-to-back test cricket series victories tomorrow.
The languid West Indian captain and fearless Indian slugger successfully took the gloss of the new ball during boundary-laden campaigns either side of Christmas.
And should leaden skies lift and whipping rain subside to enable play at Galle International Stadium, New Zealand's seam bowlers risk another battering in the first test here because Dilshan has bullishly proclaimed a new found responsibility at the top of the order will not curb his aggressive streak.
Dilshan has been an international cricketer for a decade but only recently has the 32-year-old become indispensable to the Sri Lankan selectors in all forms of the game.
Ditched after a poor test series against England in 2001, he was on the outer for two seasons; and as recently as last year he was culled from the limited overs unit only to return with a vengeance, particularly at June's Twenty20 world championship in England.
Dilshan's savage hitting and audacious innovation - he happily risked injury when bowing to execute ramp shots over his head - propelled Sri Lanka to the final.
Pakistan might have emerged victorious at Lord's but Dilshan scooped the player of the tournament accolade by averaging better than 50 at a rocket-fuelled strike rate of 144.
Dilshan has played just two of his 55 tests against New Zealand; four years ago he had a modest three innings aggregate of 110 at 36.66.
But the right-hander is a far more formidable opponent these days, as evidenced by his latest encounters with the tourists.
His almost pedestrian 48 from 37 balls helped eliminate New Zealand from the world Twenty20, and last week he con firmed his rehabilitation from a finger injury by clouting an ominous 68 for a Sri Lankan Development 11.
The simplicity of Dilshan's dissection of New Zealand's test-strength attack convinced captain Kumar Sangakkara and coach Trevor Bayliss to shunt him higher than No 4 for the first time in an 86-innings test career that has yielded 3166 runs at 41.11.
In last month's successful test series against Pakistan Dilshan batted as low as eight and underscored his adaptability by also keeping wicket.
Now first-choice gloveman Prasanna Jayawardene has been also been passed fit after his own finger injury Dilshan is expected to squeeze out Malinda Warnapura.
The prospect of opening does not faze the self assured Dilshan, who makes no differentiation between test and limited overs cricket.
"If the ball is in the right area to hit I will go for the shot straight away," he said.
"I'm not worried that I'm playing a test ... I play in a positive way and try to score off every ball.
"Why would I change my gameplan and not play to my strengths? I won't be thinking whether it's one-day or test cricket and whether it's the first ball, it doesn't matter to me."
Offspinner Jeetan Patel, who ended Dilshan's whirlwind 60-ball knock at Nondescripts Cricket Club last Thursday, admitted New Zealand's strategies required revising after he was initially offered far too much width and short deliveries by the quicks and Jacob Oram.
"We always knew he was going to be aggressive ... and we had plans against him that we probably didn't implement as well as we could have," Patel said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand captain and senior slow bowler Daniel Vettori will not exactly be complaining if Dilshan plays to form in New Zealand next summer as they will be teammates at Northern Districts.
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Northern Districts secured Dilshan's signature last month for the domestic Twenty20 competition, in Vettori's view a coup for his province and an encouraging sign for the sport's national profile.
"For ND to get a player of that calibre is really exciting," he said.
"Hopefully it's the start of something for NZ cricket. If provinces can pick up players of that quality New Zealand can be seen as an attractive destination for world class players.
"Once you get that, you'll get the crowds back to games."
- NZPA
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
NZ vs SRI LANKA
NZ v SRI LANKA
Overall record
Played 24, New Zealand won 9, Sri Lanka won 5, 10 draws
In Sri Lanka:
Played 11, New Zealand won 3, Sri Lanka won 3, 5 draws
First test: New Zealand won by an innings and 25 runs at Christchurch, March 1983
Latest test: Sri Lanka won by 217 runs at Wellington, December 2006
Last NZ victory in Sri Lanka: At Colombo, May 1998 by 167 runs.
Highest individual innings:
299 - Martin Crowe at Wellington, Jan 1991
267 - Aravinda de Silva at Wellington, Jan 1991
Best bowling figures:
Innings
7-130 Daniel Vettori at Wellington, Dec 2006
6-72 - Kumar Dharmasena at Galle, June 1998
Match
10-90 - Chaminda Vaas at Napier, March 1995
10-108 - Richard Hadlee at Colombo, March 1984
Squads
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (captain), Tim McIntosh, Martin Guptill, Daniel Flynn, Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Iain O'Brien, Chris Martin, Daryl Tuffey, Craig Cumming, Grant Elliott, Reece Young.
Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Malinda Warnapura, Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dammika Prasad, Prasanna Jayawardene, Rangana Herath.
'ODIs still the best limited-overs format'
Ex-South Africa captain Shaun Pollock believes One-Day International cricket is still the best limited-overs form of the game.
Looking ahead to next month's ICC Champions Trophy to be played at The Wanderers and Centurion, Pollock said: "Having played a lot (of 50-over cricket), maybe I'm a bit more of a sucker when it comes to appreciating the game.
"The fast 20-over game has caught the imagination of many but if you get off to a bad start then you can cost yourself the game.
"There is a lot of skill involved in the 50-over game and it's over a much longer period, so that allows teams to have a bit of a mishap and recover from it and you've got time to implement tactics.
"I think ODIs are still the best format of limited-overs cricket, especially with regard to making sure the best team comes out on top," he said.
shaun pollock. Pollock knows all about that. He was part of the South Africa squad that came out on top in the first staging of the ICC Champions Trophy, when it was known as the ICC Knock-Out, in Bangladesh in 1998.
The tournament has had several facelifts since then but now, with just the top eight-ranked international sides involved in a short, sharp contest of 15 matches in two weeks starting on 22 September, Pollock believes it is set up perfectly for a great spectacle.
"A lot of sports have gone that way (involving just those sides at the top end of the rankings)," he said.
"Tennis and golf are just two that have done it.
"It's always good when you've got the best teams competing against each other and that's exactly what you'll have here.
"All those teams will be based in one place, it will all take place around Johannesburg and so it will be easy to go and view and it will give you some fantastic cricket.
"It's a great format, I'm glad the tournament's come here and I'm glad they're continuing with the (ICC Champions) Trophy," he added.
Pollock is also excited by the added touches at this year's event, including a total of US$4million prize money, match of the match prizes of a watch worth US$8,500, a special Champions Trophy jacket for each member of the winning team and value-for-money ticket prices starting from just ZAR35 (US$4.26 at current exchange rates) with the highest price for a ticket to the final only ZAR140 (US$17.11).
"It's good for the game," he said.
"There need to be incentives for the players and spectators and for everyone involved so that all forms of the game are looked after from Test matches, to the 50-over game to the 20-over game.
"The better we market them, the better we make everyone with regard to their mindset to play in them (and) then it's obviously going to be a better spectacle and that's what you want."
Looking ahead to next month's ICC Champions Trophy to be played at The Wanderers and Centurion, Pollock said: "Having played a lot (of 50-over cricket), maybe I'm a bit more of a sucker when it comes to appreciating the game.
"The fast 20-over game has caught the imagination of many but if you get off to a bad start then you can cost yourself the game."There is a lot of skill involved in the 50-over game and it's over a much longer period, so that allows teams to have a bit of a mishap and recover from it and you've got time to implement tactics.
"I think ODIs are still the best format of limited-overs cricket, especially with regard to making sure the best team comes out on top," he said.
shaun pollock. Pollock knows all about that. He was part of the South Africa squad that came out on top in the first staging of the ICC Champions Trophy, when it was known as the ICC Knock-Out, in Bangladesh in 1998.
The tournament has had several facelifts since then but now, with just the top eight-ranked international sides involved in a short, sharp contest of 15 matches in two weeks starting on 22 September, Pollock believes it is set up perfectly for a great spectacle.
"A lot of sports have gone that way (involving just those sides at the top end of the rankings)," he said.
"Tennis and golf are just two that have done it.
"It's always good when you've got the best teams competing against each other and that's exactly what you'll have here.
"All those teams will be based in one place, it will all take place around Johannesburg and so it will be easy to go and view and it will give you some fantastic cricket.
"It's a great format, I'm glad the tournament's come here and I'm glad they're continuing with the (ICC Champions) Trophy," he added.
Pollock is also excited by the added touches at this year's event, including a total of US$4million prize money, match of the match prizes of a watch worth US$8,500, a special Champions Trophy jacket for each member of the winning team and value-for-money ticket prices starting from just ZAR35 (US$4.26 at current exchange rates) with the highest price for a ticket to the final only ZAR140 (US$17.11).
"It's good for the game," he said.
"There need to be incentives for the players and spectators and for everyone involved so that all forms of the game are looked after from Test matches, to the 50-over game to the 20-over game.
"The better we market them, the better we make everyone with regard to their mindset to play in them (and) then it's obviously going to be a better spectacle and that's what you want."
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