Gutless Sri Lankans suffer heaviest Test defeat

by Rex Clementine

If saving Test matches were an art, Hashan Tillakaratne was the Picasso of it. The solid number six rarely threw away his wicket. He’s not the only one to have produced back to the wall match saving knocks. Tilan Samaraweera and Asanka Gurusinha had come up with masterclass efforts over the years. They may not have the flamboyance of Aravinda de Silva or Mahela Jayawardene, but their over my dead body mentality had enabled Sri Lanka many a memorable draw.

The current side has much to learn from the stalwarts of yesteryear. What they played yesterday was not Test match cricket. It was schoolboy stuff. In fact, all this Test match their attitude, application and commitment has been found wanting.

Yesterday’s innings and 222 run loss inside four days is Sri Lanka’s biggest loss at home with the previous worst being the innings and 208 run defeat to South Africa in 1993 when Brett Schultz and Allan Donald blew us away.

There should be serious questions asked about Kusal Mendis’ place in the side. He threw away his wickets in the first innings and followed suit in the second essay experimenting an expensive inside out drive over extra cover but didn’t get to the pitch of the ball and ended up offering a simple catch to covers.

At a time when the team was desperately trying to stretch the game to day five, such exuberance was unbecoming of someone whom the selectors think is a captain in waiting. Woe be the day that happens.

Mendis isn’t the only one to be blamed for throwing away his wicket with Dhananjaya de Silva, who failed to clear mid-on and Ramesh Mendis, who was stumped, fell for loose shots. You expected more guts from the experienced seniors like Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne.

Batting collapses in four innings poses serious questions about the team. Has the time come to dismantle the Test side?

There was nothing extraordinary that Noman Ali, who finished with career best figures of seven for 70 did. Noman had accounted for the top seven Sri Lanka batters. He just pitched the ball at one spot and turned it away from the right-handers and Sri Lanka were happy to gift the wickets away to the left-arm spinner.

Naseem Shah though was a treat to watch. He reverse swung the older ball to deadly effect and the Sri Lankan tail were sitting ducks against him as he knocked off the last three batsmen, none of whom troubled the scorers.