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In each of their recent major-tournament campaigns, Sri Lanka's greatest
strength has lain in their attack. Diverse, persistent, occasionally
vicious, opposition batsmen have been unsettled by unorthodoxy and
discipline in equal parts. As the team prepares for its Champions Trophy
opener in Cardiff, though, they will know they are light on mystique in
this tournament.
Lasith Malinga's round-arm remains an oddity, but it is hardly
unfamiliar now, given the amount of limited-overs cricket he plays
around the world. Sachithra Senanayake also has a growing bag of
slow-bowling tricks, but the two men Sri Lanka left out - Ajantha Mendis
and Akila Dananjaya - are far more enigmatic. The remainder of Sri
Lanka's bowling options, from nagging right-arm seamers Angelo Mathews
and Thisara Perera, to Rangana Herath's left-arm orthodox, pose
challenges opponents have encountered before.
And, by almost any standard, Nuwan Kulasekara
is a run-of-the-mill bowler. Rarely exceeding 130kph, with a whippy
action and a commitment to line, length and movement above all else, he
has often been the dependable, but unremarkable cog in Sri Lanka's
attack. While team-mates gambled for wickets, Kulasekara's role was to
hold one end down. For a while, he was so good at it - he became the
top-ranked ODI bowler in 2008.
In 2013, though, Kulasekara finds his mandate altered significantly. Now
a senior in the bowling unit, he has been called on to pick up the
slack where Malinga can no longer be as effective. In the years before a
new ball was used at each end, Sri Lanka had built a reputation as one
of the best death-bowling outfits in the world, thanks to their
spearhead's ability to use reverse-swing. But a shift in the rules has
brought a change in Malinga's fortunes and even he admits his figures
have suffered in the last 18 months. With the ball swinging
conventionally for longer, however, the new rule suits Kulasekara's game
just fine.
"The rule affects different people in different ways," Kulasekara said.
"I think there is more pressure on me now, to get wickets. Lasith is
probably the best limited-overs bowler in the world, so if batsmen try
to play him safely and attack me, I have a chance to get wickets. My
strength is to swing the ball, so I'm expected to get those early
breakthroughs."
In the past year, Kulasekara has added an away-seamer to his repertoire,
to go with a straighter one and his stock ball, the inswinger. He had
been in outstanding form in Australia early in the year, when he
annihilated the Australia top order on a hot, muggy Brisbane day, taking
5 for 22, but his record in colder climes has not befit his ability. In
five matches in England he only has a single victim to his name, and
although he went wicketless in both Sri Lanka's warm-up matches, he
remains hopeful he can be as impactful in the Champions Trophy as he has
increasingly been at home.
"I haven't been getting the ball out as well as I would have liked, and
I'm not at my best when it comes to rhythm. That happens from time to
time. We had got slow pitches in Birmingham [in the warm-up games] - the
ball didn't swing a lot. Sometimes when it is this cold, it doesn't
swing as well, so I haven't been able to make the ball do what I hoped
for. We have a few more practice sessions before the tournament, and
I'll be working hard with Chaminda Vaas to work those issues out and get
back to my top rhythm. He has a lot of experience here, so I will have a
good chat to him and try to correct it."
While Kulasekara has failed to find his best in England, Sri Lanka's
next-best swing bowler has prospered in the practice matches. Shaminda
Eranga, who has previously impressed in England for the A team, took two
wickets in each match despite not having the use of the new ball. With
another right-arm seamer, Dilhara Lokuhettige, also in the squad, there
is heat on Kulasekara to rediscover form quickly, but he has also
enjoyed being part of a six-man pace unit on tour - an oddity for a Sri
Lankan squad.
"Actually we fast bowlers get together and try to figure out a
collective strategy. With the new fielding restrictions, it's not easy
to bowl at the end of an innings. We all have different strengths, so we
have ideas about what fields should be set and where to bowl, and we're
learning from each other and the bowling coach."
Sri Lanka lost both practice matches largely due to the bowlers'
indiscipline on flat Edgbaston wickets - even when the batsmen set up a
massive total in the first game against India. Sri Lanka do not play any
group matches in Birmingham, and Kulasekara feels the match results are
not indicative of the team's chances in the tournament.
"Who wins or loses doesn't really have a big effect. It's a practice
match so we're changing bowlers around, rather than sticking to a plan,
and when our batsmen are going well we retire them and so on. We tried
to give everyone a chance, but there will be a big shift in our approach
in the actual matches. We learnt a lot from these games, but the
results won't mean much."
Kulasekara has been a fixture in Sri Lanka's ODI side, and it is
unlikely two poor practice matches will change that, at least as far as
their opening game against New Zealand. If the swing that has eluded his
fingers thus far can define his cricket again, Sri Lanka will once more
feel they have an attack that can carry them far into the tournament,
unorthodox or not.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. He tweets here
Feeds: Andrew Fidel Fernando
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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