Related Links : Sri Lanka’s Tour of Australia 2007/08
Sri Lankans are in Australia to play a couple of Test Matches which is followed up with an exciting Tri-Series that includes the home team along with India later on. There haven’t been many Test Matches played between Australia and Sri Lanka for some reasons but both countries have been great competitors against each other atleast in the One Day format ever since the 1996 World Cup Final. Test Cricket however has been a totally different brand with the Sri Lankans winning just the one match in the entire history of Aus-SL Tests.
Just the 18 Tests have been played between Australia and Sri Lanka with the former dominating with 11 wins and just the one loss. It is a tough challenge for Sri Lanka’s Captain Mahela Jayawardene to do something none of his predecessors have never managed to do and that is to win a Test Match in Australia. Sri Lanka returns to the unfamiliar territory of playing Test Cricket down under after three long years. The advantage that they will be having this time round is that Australia for the first time in many years is going to be without the services of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Along with that there is no Justin Langer at the top of the order which may not be that huge but atleast the two bowling greats will be missed by the homeside.
Another factor going in the favour of the tourists is that they have Muttiah Muralitharan taking part in this tour despite all the fear about crowd abuse. The biggest motivation for Muralitharan is that he is just nine wickets short of becoming the world’s highest wicket taker. The Aussies will do their bit in stopping Murali from breaking Warney’s 708 in this 2-Test Series. Murali might have taken 700 wickets but he has a lot to prove in Australia as his previous Test Match bowling saw him get smashed for a double century and a century in the two Test innings. That was a long time back in 1995/96 when Murali didn’t possess a deadly doosra like how he does now. Murali had picked three wickets in Australia out of his 700 Test Scalps.
Supporting Muralitharan is a potent pace attack that consists of three match winning bowlers in Lasith Malinga, Farveez Maharoof and Dilhara Fernando. There is of course another bowler in Chaminda Vaas but he is not that sharp enough these days in the air to run through batting line-ups. The Sri Lankans have a new face in Chanaka Welegedera, a left arm quick who might be learning the tricks of the trade from the bench.
Former Captain Marvan Atapattu is a last minute inclusion in the squad which was forced by the influence of the Sri Lankan Sports Ministry. Whether Atappatu’s inclusion is going to have a positive or a negative impact remains to be seen. But experience wise, Marvan did score a hundred on the last tour which was back in 2004. This particular squad led by Mahela Jayawardene should easily be the strongest side ever sent down under from the Emerald Island. Sri Lanka will have to adapt quickly to the extra pace and bounce off the tracks as the series is too short to afford any lapses. For the record, Sri Lanka has played just six Tests on the Australian soil. Out of those, Australia have won five with only once Sri Lanka managing a draw! The first Test is at Brisbane from the 8th of next month and the second one at Hobart from the 12th.
Sri Lanka’s Squad : Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Michael Vandort, Chamara Silva, Thilan Samaraweera, Jehan Mubarak, Prasanna Jayawardene (Wicket Keeper), Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Farveez Maharoof, Chanaka Welagedera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara, Marvan Atapattu