COLOMBO, 18 December 2003 — Sri Lankan captain Hashan Tillakaratne and coach John Dyson yesterday criticized England for showing a negative attitude during their ongoing Test series here.
“England have been playing negative cricket during this series,” said Tillakaratne. “We’ve made some sporting declarations but they’ve never thought about winning.”
England staved off defeat by just one wicket in the opening Test at Galle and had three wickets in hand in their second innings at Kandy after being set a 368-run target.
The final Test commences at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground here today.
“I don’t think we set improbable targets or played too safe in either of the matches. We never had the fear of losing,” said Tillakaratne, who hoped the series would not end with a 0-0 scoreline.
“The pitch here might help seam bowling a little but looks like a good batting track and it would be disappointing if this match too ends in a draw,” said Tillakaratne.
Sri Lanka’s Australian coach John Dyson too blamed England for the draws, especially in the second match.
“England’s attitude was bad. Had they lost a couple of wickets and then decided to play for a draw in Kandy, it would have been understandable. But they went for a draw from the beginning,” said Dyson.
“The pitch in Kandy was good, the outfield fast and their most experienced batsmen were in the middle. They should have gone for the runs.”
