Sri Lanka Wants More From Pacers

Sri Lanka captain wants more from fast bowlers before facing India again.

Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers best asset?

Captain Dhananjaya de Silva wants them to be. Ahead of the second Test match against India, he has urged his pacemen to “raise their game a little bit”

Sri Lanka is traditionally more suited to spin bowling, but the captain believes the team would benefit from having two pace bowlers and wants them to have more impact.

Sri Lanka wants to see more pace

De Silva feels that Sri Lanka needs to get more out of their pace attack, and wants his bowlers to generate more speed and take more wickets.

One bowler who has been consistent for Sri Lanka is Asitha Fernando, who is not the quickest, but can bowl long spells with a good degree of accuracy

Another is Lahiru Kumara

Kumara is one of the quickest bowlers Sri Lanka has seen in a long time, frequently hitting 140kph and beyond, but has been hindered by injuries and inconsistencies with the bat.

De Silva wants the best of both worlds:

He wants fast bowlers who can bowl long spells, but with more pace and who can regularly take wickets.

Some facts about Sri Lankan pace bowling:

• Asitha Fernando is not the quickest bowler,
• but he is one of the most consistent.
• Lahiru Kumar has far more pace, but he has been hindered by injuries and poor technique.
• Sri Lanka wants its pacemen to bowl at an average speed of around 140kph
• The captain wants more pace bowlers in the team

Sri Lanka has a record

When it comes to pace bowling at home, Sri Lanka has had some strange statistics.

In the last 15 years, there has only been one five-wicket haul by a locally trained Sri Lankan pace bowler in home Tests

When compared to overseas bowlers, this stat becomes far more interesting. In the same time frame, there have been 14 five-wicket hauls by overseas pacemen in Sri Lanka.

Why have overseas fast bowlers been so successful compared to Sri Lanka’s home-grown pace bowlers?

The reason for this can be found on the pitch. Grounds like Galle and the SSC are famous for being very spin-friendly.

Sri Lanka’s own bowlers have therefore often struggled on these pitches, and have not had as much success.

Local quick bowlers don’t have as much confidence on these surfaces, but de Silva wants to change that.

He wants his pace bowlers to attack the stumps

The importance of this cannot be overstated.

It is of paramount importance that Sri Lanka gets more out of their pace attack. With bowlers who can consistently take wickets on slow and tricky pitches, Sri Lanka will be much harder to beat, both at home and overseas

The captain’s dream is quite simple

If Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers could take wickets at home, they could take wickets anywhere

This is a dream that Sri Lanka needs to make come true, because in the last few decades, they have turned out some fantastic spinners. Now, they need their pacemen to rise to the occasion, and the second Test match against India is as good a chance as any to do that.

Can Sri Lanka’s pace bowlers deliver when it matters most? What do you think?