Conditions will suit Sri Lanka: Head Coach Sanath Jayasuriya

New Delhi: Sanath Jayasuriya, the interim Sri Lanka men’s head coach, believes the Test team set to play three games against England in the latter half of the summer is a great opportunity, citing the conditions will suit the visitors. Sri Lanka starts their Test series against England on August 21 at Old Trafford in Manchester.

“The fact that we have got a late-summer tour is great, because the wickets have been used a lot, and there’s more sunshine at this time of year. It’s more similar to our conditions than the early summer tours. I have made sure the players know it’s a great opportunity,” Jayasuriya told ESPNCricinfo. With many players touring England for the first time for the longer format, Jayasuriya stated about ensuring the Sri Lankan players are in the right mindset before the series begins. “I want to make sure there is that hunger. Playing three Tests like this is not an opportunity you will get easily again.”

“So we have to take it while we can. Scoring runs here is challenging, because even if the pitches are flat, the ball can still start swinging, or seaming. We have to know how to adjust to that.”

 With Sri Lanka having the services of Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews, who were members of the Test series-winning team in England in 2014, Jayasuriya wants other batters to be flexible in their batting approach.

“We have the personnel there, but we need to fight hard. If you play six or seven batters, only two or three will perform for sure. If they get a start they need to play big innings. They know they have that responsibility on challenging wickets.”

“Everyone should play their natural game, but once you get that start, there are places where you need to break things down a little, and either bat quickly, or slow down for a bit. When the ball gets older, it can still seam here, which is the uniqueness of the Duke ball.” Sri Lanka are placed in fourth position on the World Test Championships standings, with a point percentage of 50% while England are in seventh place with 36.54%. Jayasuriya signed off by saying Sri Lanka have bowling plans to counter England’s aggressive style of batting. —IANS

Also Read: ‘Happy to be part of this team,’ says Sanath Jayasuriya after Sri Lanks’ ODI series win over India

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