Having arrived in Dunedin on Tuesday for their next clash of the ICC Cricket World Cup, Sri Lankan cricket team had a training session yesterday and lead up to their game against Afghanistan on Sunday, more importance will be placed on fielding over the next few days.
Sri Lanka’s fielding has been a huge concern lead up to the World Cup and Angelo Mathews’ side has been labeled one of the most lethargic fielding outfits in the 14 nation competition.
Despite calls to address the national cricket team’s dropping fielding standards, authorities turned a blind eye to the burning issue and although they hired fielding expert Trevor Penny, two months before the World Cup it was way too late. By then complacency had set in among Sri Lankans and the commitment shown by some of the young players on the field raised many questions.
When a team’s best fielder is also their oldest, those are worrying signs for any side. Ten years ago Tillekeratne Dilshan was Sri Lanka’s best fielder and at 38 he continues to set the standards on the field.
Fielding lapses have cost the Sri Lankans dearly in recent times. Some of the notable instances are when Rohit Sharma went onto make 264 in an ODI in Calcutta last year after being dropped on four. More recently, Kane Willamson went onto make a double hundred in the Wellington Test after being dropped several times and Sri Lanka lost a Test Match that they should have won.
In Christchurch last week, in the World Cup opener, Jeewan Mendis put down Corey Anderson when he was on 43 while wicketkeeper Kumar Sagangakkara dropped Williamson before he had got off the mark. Both batsmen made notable contributions and Sri Lanka were thrashed by 98 runs.
Given Sri Lanka’s inadequacies in the bowling department, fielding becomes a vital aspect, but the current team hasn’t shown much enthusiasm to this vital discipline.
Even when Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996, their bowling was mediocre, but the likes of Roshan Mahanama, Upul Chandana, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya and Hashan Tillekeratne through their excellent fielding made amends. In that competition, Sri Lanka’s fielding was considered the best in the world along with the South Africans.
After the Afghanistan game on Sunday in Dunedin, Sri Lanka will travel to Melbourne to play Bangladesh before returning to Wellington in New Zealand where they will play England. Sri Lanka’s last two Group ‘A’ games are in Australia. Sydney will host their game against the hosts and then they will travel to Tasmania where Hobart is the venue for their last group game against Scotland.
