FEW HINTS FOR MY SRI LANKA CRICKET TEAM
Posted on May 31st, 2019
By M D P DISSANAYAKE
My dearest Team
By now you would have been inundated with advise, hints etc by many.
These are my hints or pathways, take it or leave it:
i. Never underestimate your opposing team;
ii. At the beginning of your innings, if you are successful in scoring couple of boundries or sixers, do not underestimate the Bowler or field placements;
iii. Refrain from playing your Shots assuming that the Bowler is silly;
iv. Remember there are 300 deliveries and no hurry at all;
v. Matches are lost by few runs on many occasions;
vi. Matches are won mostly by strong innings by an individual member;
vii. If you are settled and scoring rapidly, do not be over-confident;
viii. If your Team is at 175 at the end of 35 over for the loss of 3 or 4 wickets, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SET A TARGET OF OVER 300;
ix. Avoid dot balls, at least consistently score 4 to 5 runs per over;
x. And finally, once again DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE OPPOSING TEAM.
May 31st, 2019 at 6:20 pm
Good advice.
NZ is a ferocious team which will likely enter semifinals with Australia, India and England.
Obviously the oldest world cup team with an average age of 30.43 (SL) knows what is best.
However, these are some technical advice.
1. England grounds are smaller and it is easier to score a big daunting total. So we need very tight bowling more than batting (which is not our strength anyway). Subject to field restrictions have a defensive field to stop boundaries if the opponents go on attacking which NZ surely will. Make them work hard for their runs.
2. Try unconventional bowling like SA did – started with a spinner. Study the weakness of each batter and target it.
3. We do not have a good wicket keeper. Sadly we have to place a fielder in the slips for fast bowlers which denies another fielding position.
4. When batting, use left and right hand combinations as much as we can. This adds pressure on opponents’ field placing, change over after each odd run and the amount of work they have to do on field. This is especially so in the middle overs (15 to 35). We have a definite advantage here as we have many left handed batsmen. Make use of them.
5. Send Matthews and Thisara early so that they can face more balls and bat under less pressure. Specialist batsmen cannot have the luxury of only batting (not balling) and also a safe batting position with less pressure. They must bat under pressure.
6. Have the confidence that every dog has its day. And on that day he will be crowned king.
Good luck Team Sri Lanka.
June 1st, 2019 at 5:31 am
If you are bowling
don’t give a boundary in the first ball. If you do, batsman going to have the upper hand straight away while the
bowler going to be less confident. Try to limit the first over to no nuns or minimum and show them it’s tough to
get runs. Every time a boundary/3/6 is hit, do a bit of field changing to make batsman think.
If you are batting
don’t try to hit the first ball for 3, 4 or 6. If you do, you going to have the mentality, oh it is so easy and get out
in double quick time. Try to get to hundred (opposing team going to panic then and give away more runs) without losing a wicket, don’t worry too much about the overs since the opposing captain going to use his best bowlers first and you can make up for those overs with the not so good bowlers who is going to bowl later in the innings. Then take the maximum time allowed to set the field. If you keep bowling when getting hit, you going to give away
more runs and bowler going to have doubts in his mind about his ability. If a bowler gets hit, immediately take
him out (sort of ‘humiliate’ him in front of the crowd, and to make him realise his mistake). Once you have enough
runs and good fielding a win should be in the bag.
June 1st, 2019 at 5:40 am
Correction:
Then take the maximum time allowed……..
should be under bowling.
Sorry, coach got wires crossed.