|
|
|
| May 17, 2003 | Saturday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 14, 1424 |
Bowlers having great time at batsmen’s expense in tri-series
COLOMBO, May 16: Bowlers are again expected to call the shots when the second leg of preliminary matches in the ongoing triangular one-day series opens at Dambulla on Sunday with a game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming put the batting conditions in proper perspective when he said the toss played a crucial role in his team’s defeat against the hosts on a seamer-friendly track on Tuesday.
Put in to bat, New Zealand failed to cope with the moving ball in overcast conditions before being bundled out for a meagre 139. Sri Lanka achieved the target with five wickets to spare.
“The toss should not play a crucial role in deciding the match,” said Pakistani coach Javed Miandad.
No captain has so far elected to bat first after winning the toss in the first-leg of three low-scoring league matches at the Buddhist venue, hosting one-day internationals after two years.
Only one match had been played at this centre before this series when England (143) lost to Sri Lanka (144-5) by five wickets in March 2001.
The second leg of three matches and the final between the top two teams were scheduled to be held in Colombo, but bad weather in the Sri Lankan capital forced the organisers to shift the remaining games to Dambulla.
New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka each have posted one victory in two first-leg matches.
No team managed to cross the 200-mark in the first three games in bowler-friendly conditions, the highest score being 199 by Pakistan against Sri Lanka in the series-opener.
Pakistani opener Mohammad Hafeez remains the only batsman to compile a half-century, a gutsy 114-ball 53 against the hosts.
Fleming said the first-leg contests were not traditional one-dayers where batsmen scored a lot of runs and the bowlers came under pressure.
“It was disappointing from spectators’ point of view,” he said.
Miandad echoed Fleming’s sentiments, saying one-dayers are all about entertainment.
“People like to see a lot of runs because one-day cricket is for spectators. They come to see totals of 250-270 and the other team chasing,” he said.
Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu agreed, saying the Dambulla pitches were not easy to bat on.
“The wickets at Dambulla are not batsmen-friendly. People come to see a lot of runs and one-day cricket is a batsman’s game,” he said.
Pakistani skipper Rashid Latif felt the ongoing series could prove to be a blessing in disguise for his young team.
“Conditions in Dambulla suit seam bowlers but it is a good experience for us, considering our forthcoming tour of England where our players are expected to face similar conditions,” he said.
The trio of captains now hope the sun shines on Dambulla in the remaining matches so that the seam bowlers do not again exploit the early dampness on pitches and reduce the matches to low-scoring contests.—AFP
|
|
|
|
