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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
THE Test cricket series between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka is now taking shape following the arrival of the islanders in Harare yesterday with a strong squad.
The Sri Lankans, who have been on a tour of India for a brief T20I series, were expected last night and will have at least two days to acclimatise ahead of the first match on Sunday. Unfortunately, they will have to troop onto the field without having played a warm-up match to polish up their arsenal.
The side, coached by South African Mickey Arthur, is looking forward to a turnaround of fortunes in Harare following a poor run of results in recent months. They also hired Zimbabwean Grant Flower as their batting coach last month.
Sri Lanka lost their last Test series 1-0 to Pakistan last month after going down by 263 runs in the second match of the series. The first match had ended in a draw.
They had also recorded a defeat in their previous Test outing after going down 1-2 to New Zealand in August last year.
The side is led by skipper Dimuth Karunaratne. The Tests are not part of the ICC Test Championships. Zimbabwe have not played a Test match in 14 months and are keen to be back on the field for the longer version of the game.
The second Test will run from January 27-31, with both matches taking place at Harare Sports Club.
Fast bowler Suranga Lakmal returned to the Sri Lanka Test squad after missing out the last Test series in Pakistan in December, having contracted dengue.
Lakmal reclaimed his place from young fast bowler Asitha Fernando, who was named as his replacement for the Pakistan tour.
Sean Williams will lead Zimbabwe in the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka after being named captain in the first week of this month.
He takes over from Hamilton Masakadza, who led them in the series against Bangladesh before retiring from the game to accept the post of Zimbabwe Cricket’s director of cricket.
Meanwhile, debate is raging back in Sri Lanka over the omission of Kusal Perera in the Test squad. Perera’s omission has prompted former captain Mahela Jayawardene to weigh in on the matter.
Perera’s innings against South Africa saw Sri Lanka register a famous come-from-behind victory in Durban, with Wisden referring to the win as “one of, if not the, great overseas performances this decade”, and bestowed Perera’s knock against a strong South African pace attack as one of the best Test knocks of the decade.
But since his outstanding innings in South Africa last February, Perera has not played any of the three Test matches against Pakistan in December, and now finds himself out of the tour of Zimbabwe.
“Wasn’t he the same player who won the Test match in Durban single-handedly 12 months ago?” former Sri Lanka captain Jayawardene asked on Twitter.
“He has only played three Test matches (five Innings) since then.”
However, Sri Lanka’s chief selector and team manager, Ashantha de Mel, explained in a recent interview that Perera “has an issue with his hamstrings where he can’t run around the field as much,” which was a factor in the decision to leave him out of the Test series in Zimbabwe. The decision to drop the 29-year-old from the Test squad came “after consulting with new coach Mickey Arthur, who felt it was better for Kusal to remain in Sri Lanka and train for the white-ball series against West Indies in February, rather than tour Zimbabwe without getting a game,” ESPNCricinfo reported.
Sri Lanka squad
Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Candimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha Lakshan Sandakan, Suranga Lakmal.
Online Reporter