Playing at the Galle International Stadium - a first-hand account
What areas do Sri Lanka need to address ahead of the T20 World Cup?
Taking guard in Galle
by Nick Brookes
The moment the email landed in my inbox, my heart skipped a beat.
I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming
“As part of the Galle Literary Festival, would you like to play in a cricket match at the Galle International Ground?”
This was a gift from the Gods. I’d long dreamed I’d get the chance to run out on that hallowed patch – my favourite ground in all of the world. And I came to the match with a point to prove: my last – in fact, my only – innings on the island had yielded a golden duck. Here was a rare, gilt-edged opportunity to score my first run(s) on Lankan soil.
I boarded the plane filled with enthusiasm, but by the time Sunday rolled around, more than a dash of trepidation had entered the mix. Jaded from a lack of sleep, I feared an innings that would surely prove less Master Blaster, more death by a thousand missed cuts. I sheepishly asked whether there might be someone to take my place. Thankfully, the answer was no.
Like any good side, our Lit Fest XI came together slowly at first, then in a flash over the weekend – with a hint of arm-twisting and more than a few whispered rumours drifting across the Fort. Were S. Faulks and A.C. Grayling set to forge a heavyweight opening partnership to rival Greenidge and Haynes? Did Vidura Rajapaksa sacrifice a promising career as a slinging seamer so he could tread the boards of London’s comedy clubs? Had Alexander McCall Smith really been waiting for a trip to the south-coast fortress to unveil his much-worked-upon doosra?
None of this turned out to be true, but the team that assembled at 3 pm on Sunday boasted a powerful blend of youth and experience. Broad smiles masked niggling worries – among our number were the festival-weary, the humidity-shy and those who spoke of decades since they last wore whites. But as the papare band started up with a rousing rendition of the Game of Thrones soundtrack, and crowds swelled in front of the members’ pavilion, we all knew it was too late to back out.
Somehow, I found myself facing the first ball of the match – and breathed a heavy sigh of relief as I was served up a waist-high full toss to open my account. A pair of streaky boundaries later and my head had swelled beyond recognition: suddenly, dancing slaps over mid-off and scything drives through the covers seemed on the cards. A slapstick run out brought me back down to earth: before I knew it, I was trudging back to the pavilion in a pool of sweat, with 15 against my name.
My opening partner Diccon Martin proved much harder to shift. He grew into his innings, providing able support to the show-stealing Vinod Malwatte – an elegant left-hander, who’d cut his teeth in a schoolboy side featuring Kusal Perera and Bhanuka Rajapaksa. Malwatte unreeled a series of strokes that would have made even his former teammates blush – 46 runs flashed from his blade in a matter of minutes. With the help of handy cameos from Ivo Richli and Andrew Fidel Fernando, the Lit Fest XI managed 126 from our 15 overs. As with the great Sri Lankan side of the ‘90s, moving between the sticks proved far harder than finding the fence – four of our six wickets fell to run-outs.
Still, we started the second innings sensing we were well in the game – and spirits were instantly lifted by what we saw on the field. The bandana-clad, broad-shouldered Manu Joseph opened the bowling from the pavilion end – a look of steely determination etched on his face, he steamed in like a freight train: finding pace and bounce and carry, Joseph beat the bat several times.
Meanwhile, the Lit Fest XI were looking electric in the field. Shehan Karunatilaka prowled the covers like a panther; Peter Frankopan narrowly missed a shy at the stumps; even the less lithe among us put body on the line and ensured there were no easy runs on offer.
And when captain Frankopan took the ball from the Fort End, he tightened the screw. His unerring line and length saw stumps shattered off back-to-back deliveries: as a historic Galle moment beckoned, a hush fell across the crowd. Hat-trick ball was on the money again – spooned up off the bat, it swirled teasingly in the sky. But amidst yelps of agony, it somehow fell safe between cover and mid-off.
Of course, this was Galle – so it was inevitable that, sooner or later, spin would come to play a decisive role. Karunatilaka reminded all present that life often mirrors art: dancing through the gap between umpire and stumps, he delivered left-arm leg spinners with a lyrical action straight from the Pradeep Mathew school. He put revs on the ball, bowled with flight, guile and trickery – and like Joseph before him, was unlucky not to see greater rewards in the wicket column.
Yet, his miserly spell was crucial to keeping us in the game. Frankopan cycled bowlers cleverly from the pavilion end – but as the light began to fade, and a procession of hard-hitting local batters bruised the boundary boards, nerves were fraying fast. Our skipper had one more trick up his sleeve.
As a writer, Andrew Fidel Fernando has covered more close finishes than I’ve had kotthus, and proved the perfect choice to carry the burden of bowling at the death. Despite a dodgy knee, he sent down flattish off-spinners and channelled the spirit of Malinga – using brains as much as brawn, varying pace and flight, keeping the batters constantly guessing. A glorious change-up, and a tidy bit of work behind the stumps from Ivo Richli, saw a dangerous stand broken.
Still, the match was too close to call. Fidel’s penultimate ball disappeared to the fence; a repeat off the last and the game would be lost. He fired it in fast and flat and wide, but the young Vishen Halmabage made another crisp connection. There were gasps as the ball raced towards the cover boundary, but Christian Rowlands would not be beaten. He produced a stop for the ages to keep it inside the playing field: at once, eleven men charged to the middle from every corner of the ground, jumping for joy like children and embracing like old friends. Somehow, we had won a game at Galle.
Of course, cricket is about more than winning and losing – result aside, all 22 of us felt giddy at getting the chance to play at this iconic, storybook ground. There were times standing in the field when I’d look up, overawed at the sight of the proud, ancient clocktower. Or the coconut palms swaying in the breeze, the buses careering at breakneck speed around the perimeter, the saffron-robed monks watching on from the ramparts.
It’s funny how cricket grounds can come to feel so emotive. As I stood on the boundary’s edge at the end of the game – legs sore, Lion lager in hand – I wondered if there was anywhere more beautiful the whole world over. I’ll cherish the memory of my day out at Galle forever: all thanks to Chris Rowlands and Keshi Halambage for making a dream come true.
What areas do Sri Lanka need to focus on ahead of the T20 World Cup?
by Mark Machado
To many Sri Lanka fans it might feel that the dust hasn't quite settled on the last World Cup but the ICC waits for no man and the next edition of the T20 World Cup is only four months away. With the Lions due to play South Africa in their opening game in New York, there isn't a huge amount of time to address some of the issues with the squad.
Since covid, Sri Lanka's T20 fortunes could be described as staccato. The high of the 2022 Asia Cup was followed swiftly by a limp showing during the last T20 World Cup in Australia, with injuries and loss of form to blame.
So, four months out, how is the squad shaping up and what areas need addressing? What must Sri Lanka do with the remaining games they have before the tournament starts?
In the last few tournaments Sri Lanka have hidden behind the inexperience and youth tag, however for the core of the squad this tournament is likely to be a third or forth major ICC tournament they have played at. The squad has largely been together since a second string India turned up in SL in mid 2021. Players such as Charith and Pathum have been in the team for a while and well out of the rookie stage of their careers.
In the games in the USA Sri Lanka will have vibrant support and I think it's fair that fan expectations are starting to grow as well.
As it stands, Sri Lanka have three T20Is against Afghanistan at home and then another three against Bangladesh away before the World Cup tournament starts. Though I'd assume there will be a couple of warm ups in the Americas.
So that's six fixtures!
Six games to fine tune the team, refine squad selection and work out everyone's roles. The two major questions that Sri Lanka need to answer is the strategy for putting together big scores. I feel this comes down to role definition as well as being clear on strategy when wickets tumble and what happens at the end of an innings. Some would say that Sri Lanka lack the big power hitters, but Wanindu, Angelo, Dasun & Bhanuka have all proven they can clear the boundary down the order and maybe it's time to consider a more radical approach like playing Kusal Mendis or Kusal Perera down the order to make sure we have big strikers of the ball at the death.
Talking of the death, the second issue Sri Lanka must address is the bowling. Pathirana is a right handful at the death, Hasaranga is a middle over monster and Theekshana can bowl at any time but what happens if someone in the bowling unit is having a bad day and one of the opposition batters has gotten on top of our bowlers. I suppose this really is a question about team make-up.
Personally, I think it strengthens Angelo and Dasun's hand for selection in the XI, but for the purposes of selection I suspect between them you should expect to get 4 good overs and the ideal situation would be that they were option 6 & 7. When all fit, bowling is currently Sri Lanka's strength and I'd pick the side considering bowling first. This of course brings us onto bowler fitness issues.....
Should the selectors be preparing for our bowlers to be injured? Do we need to prepare for what happens if Madushanka & Chameera aren't avaliable? Is it inevitable that Kasun Rajitha will be excluded from the two squads against Afghanistan & Bangladesh but be scrambling to get to Florida for Sri Lanka's third match of the group?
Selectors and coaches can talk about depth charts for certain positions and no doubt Kasun Rajitha will give us everything he's got when he dropped into the team, but do we need to give our back up options the chance to play as first choice now... in order to grow the confidence of our wicket taking arsenal?
These are the areas I think need looking at during the next few months on the road to the World Cup. Let's see what SLC do....