It gave me a great sense of relief to see that Graeme bit the bullet and endured the torture that it writing the obligatory "thank the Lord the SPL season is over" article. It also heartened me to see that his minority sport had a £1.1 million cut to its' budget due to "lack of participation" recently. No such thing in the world of cricket, even if some of the counties don't even have the budget to afford good-quality teabags these days. So I think it is entirely justified that I bring the readers another glorious summer of leather on willow, albeit cutting out most of the county crap and focusing on the international game. We start with the Sri Lankans, who arrived from all corners of the globe, be it home, the IPL or disappointing county stints in the Westcountry (more moaning about Ajantha Mendis to come this summer, rest assured). The first warm-up game took them to a chilly Uxbridge, where they faced a Middlesex side who have enjoyed a great start to the Championship season, although shorn of many of their regulars for this encounter. There was, however, one familiar face who may just have set the tone for the tour...Tour match (Uxbridge): Sri Lanka 309-2d (Dilshan 123, Paranavitana 103) and 216-6 beat Middlesex 360-8d (Strauss 151, Housego 104) and 161 by 4 wickets
So a winning start for our tourists. They will be slightly concerned by the form of some of their bowlers though. The stand-out was Chanaka Welegedara, who picked up 5 wickets in the match and caused the Middlesex batsmen trouble with his swing second time around. Sri Lanka will hope to utilise him as the long-term successor to Chaminda Vaas, currently enjoying a renaissance with Northants. He will be relied upon to be accurate and penetrative with the new ball, probably in partnership with the pacier Dilhara Fernando, who is still on IPL duty. Suranga Lakmal and Farveez Maharoof look nothing more than capable backups, carrying little threat should the England batsmen hit their straps. Then there is the spin duo of Mendis and Rangana Herath. Mendis was simply gash in first-class cricket for Somerset, the mystery decoded and the front foot overstepping far too often. His freakishly strong fingers do not impart enough spin to devaite enough on pitches away from the subcontinent, so you can expect Pietersen et al to go after him. Herath is a more wily character, an accurate left-armer who possesses just enough variation to keep the batsmen honest. However, much as I hate to say it, how often do you see left-arm spinners singlehandedly winning test matches?
The opening batsmen made hay against a second string Middlesex attack, but all the same you have to admire the way skipper Tillekaratne Dilshan adapted so quickly to English conditions and the first-class game so soon after leaving the IPL. True, he did attack the spin of young Tom Smith, hitting a massive six out of the ground, but this is a totally different set of circumstances and he has proven how dangerous the batting lineup, still incomplete without former captains Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, could be. Tharanga Paranavitana is an interesting case. He is an archetypal opener, with good technique and concentration but as yet has not been tested outside of the subcontinent in his first 16 Tests. Will he adapt as well as his captain? All of the batting should be taken with a pinch of salt when you bear in mind that Middlesex's most dangerous bowler was Jamie Dalrymple (fans of England's one-day side circa 2007 will remember just how average he is - he makes Michael Yardy look like Daniel Vettori). However, you have to admire Dilshan's attacking captaincy in going after a modest target with just 45 overs left in the game and getting there. England's bowlers will have to be wary.
Finally, a quick comment on Andrew Strauss. The England captain hadn't batted since his side's ignominious exit at the hands of Sri Lanka in the World Cup. But all of his trademark shots were on show here, cutting pulling and sweeping the average bowling to great effect. The fact that he managed to help Dan Housego, a youngster who's only previous innings past 50 was against a university side, to a ton also showed a man who has the hunger and desire to lead a team of young charges to the No.1 ranking in Test match cricket.
Series wins against Sri Lanka, and later India this summer will go a long way towards achieving that. Next, we look at the tour match against the England Lions, where there will be a straight shootout between Eoin Morgan and the in-form Ravi Bopara for the spot in the batting vacated by Paul Collingwood.
RM
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