COLOMBO, 4 October — Sri Lanka’s most prolific scorer in Tests and One-Day Internationals Aravinda de Silva has finally decided to quit Test cricket but will be available for one-dayers. Aravinda is reported to have informed chairman of selectors Guy de Alwis that he would no longer be available for Tests as the selectors met to pick the team for the forthcoming tour of South Africa. Aravinda, 36, indicated during the ICC Champions Trophy final recently that he was playing his last one-dayer at home. But captain Sanath Jayasuriya had said that he would have a chat with Aravinda in an attempt to make him change his mind. Sri Lanka are due to play two Tests and five one-dayers during their tour of South Africa. Aravinda is currently in England to play for the Rest of the World against the Brits in the first ever indoor international match being played in that country. Aravinda, who smashed a double hundred in his last Test at the Saravanamuttu Stadium against Bangladesh in July, has scored 6,361 runs from 93 Tests at an average of 42.97, including 20 hundreds and 22 fifties. He is the third highest in the all time list of one-day run-getters with 8,803 runs from 288 matches at an average of 35.49. He scored 11 centuries and 60 half centuries. Only India’s Sachin Tendulkar 11,544 runs and Muhammad Azharuddin 9,378 runs are ahead of Aravinda who has also taken 92 wickets at an average of 39.81. In fact he was adjudged the man of the match in the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal against Australia as he took a wicket in conceding just 16 runs in his 10 overs.
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Test cricket the real thing
HOW times have changed!!! The cricket establishment once frowned upon the innovations introduced by World Series Cricket in the mid-1970s including night cricket and colored clothing. And the series in Australia was contemptuously dubbed the “Packer Circus” and “Pajama Party”. While Packer was instrumental in bringing in much more money for the game, he also gave a new lease of life to cricket which was a dying game in most parts of the world. His innovations have been accepted and are now the norm whenever and wherever the limited-overs variety of the game is played. The recent ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo is a recent example. Colored clothing and day-night games are here to stay. But the puritans still feel that Test cricket is the real thing. With players dressed in whites, the struggle between bat and ball is the classic fight that has been going on for over 200 years. And so it was at the Saravanamuttu Stadium as the first Pakistan-Australia Test began yesterday. It was heartwarming to see four slips and a gully as Waqar Younis thundered in to bowl the first ball. Test cricket is the real thing indeed!!
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Sylvan surroundings
THE Saravanamuttu Stadium is situated far away from the Colombo city center amid lush greenery and sylvan surroundings. When the legendary Sir Don Bradman played here in 1948, he singled out the scoreboard of the stadium for praise. It was earlier known as the Colombo Oval, and Sir Donald had this to say about the scoreboard: “Worthy of mention is the Colombo Oval’s scoreboard which in some respects gives more information than any board in the world — a tribute to local enthusiasm.” Incidentally, the stadium is owned by the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club with leg-spinner Upul Chandana its current cricket captain. Muttiah Muralitharan, the most successful Sri Lankan bowler is a former captain and perhaps the most distinguished member of the club.
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Thin attendance
AS was only to be expected not many spectators turned up for the Pakistan-Australia first Test which began yesterday. And this despite the fact that the mound area admission is absolutely free. Meanwhile, the lack of experience in the Pakistan team can be gauged from an interesting bit of statistic. While between them, the Waugh twins Steve and Waugh have played a total of 273 Tests, the total Tests played by the full Pakistani team are only 251. Steve has played 148 Tests and Mark 125. If you remove Waqar Younis’ 80 Tests, the entire Pakistani team’s total comes to just 171.
