Sri Lanka fail to pass their Muralitharan test
Tony Lawrence
Sri Lanka came to England intent on proving one thing and, with everything weighted heavily in their favour, failed spectacularly.
With off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan edging his way back from a serious shoulder injury, the trip was billed as a "great opportunity", according to coach Dav Whatmore, "to show people we are not just a one-bowler team".
But Sri Lanka, normally great entertainers and looking to extend their run of nine Test wins in a row, did not come even close as they wound up their visit on Thursday with their 2-0 Test defeat followed by one-day failure.
Sanath Jayasuriya's side had arrived for their first full Test series in England in early May and opened with 555 in the first innings at Lord's, Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene scoring centuries.
They then forced England to follow on, only to see their fortunes accelerate downhill from there as they lost the three-match series 2-0.
Muralitharan returned for the next two Tests, even bowling 64 overs first time out at Edgbaston in taking five for 143, but was clearly not at his best.
His finish as the side's most successful bowler, with eight wickets when only half-fit, underlined Sri Lanka's fundamental problems.
HOT AND COLD
Left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas did not help. A world-class performer, he was a shadow of his usual self as he claimed four Test wickets for 108.5.
Strike bowler Nuwan Zoysa blew hot and cold, while Ruchira Perera took five wickets in the first Test before being reported for a suspect bowling action.
England's batting statistics clearly reflected the Sri Lankans' bowling weaknesses.
Seven of their batsmen averaged over 40 and six over 50. Two -- Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher -- were in the 80s. And all this carnage inflicted by a team that had not won a series for 12 months.
The touring side also failed as a batting unit in conditions that should have favoured them and despite the absence of England's leading bowler Darren Gough.
Coach Dav Whatmore conceded: "The wickets were pretty good. They could have been a lot more seaming".
Yet apart from Atapattu and Jayawardene's bright beginning, there was little to cheer from some of the world's most attractive batsmen.
To cap everything, skipper Sanath Jayasuriya, a man who favours committee captaincy rather than dictatorship, had a terrible tour, averaging just under 20 in the Tests and even relegating himself from opener to number six at Old Trafford.
"It doesn't help when you are not leading from the front. He has some thinking to do about where he bats in the side," Whatmore told Sky Television.
NO CONSOLATION
Jayasuriya's 112 off 87 against England at Headingley in the triangular one-day tournament that followed the Tests was no consolation as his team, fine exponents of the shorter game, failed to make the final after losing five games out of six.
India, meanwhile, had no trouble acclimatising, winning four of their five completed games including a 3-0 record against the Sri Lankans.
Whatmore talked of bad luck, ill-disciplined batting and the team "running out of petrol" before concluding: "We haven't done as well as we expected but we have learned a fair bit".
Perhaps the most important and worrying conclusion, however, was put forward by team manager Chandra Schaffter, who stated what most people outside Sri Lanka have felt for some time.
"We do depend on Murali, probably too much," he said. "We have to learn to do better without him."
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