Spin bowling coach Piyal Wijetunge defending the two new no-balls that spinner Lakshan Sandakan bowled that cost Sri Lanka the wicket of Ben Stokes said that it was the first time it has happened with Sandakan and it was something new for all of them.
“Perhaps he was trying too hard and trying to get bounce off the wicket. That is not an excuse. We must work on that,” said Wijetunge at the end of the third day of the third Test at the SSC yesterday.
It was not only Wijetunge but also off-spinner Dilruwan Perera who came very close to being no-balled escaping on several occasions with borderline decisions.
“This is an area that we need to work on. In Dilruwan’s case we are working on it and we are in the process of putting it right. He might get it right in the future,” said Wijetunge.
“I was not in the dressing room. I was overseas during the first innings. But I think the message would have gone to the bowlers. It is such a short time and it is not easy to work on. We have to take it seriously from here on,” he said.
Wijetunge said that the general tendency is for the umpires to communicate with the bowlers whenever he is no-balled and when it was pointed out that there were 30 no-balls which the umpires had not detected he said: “The umpires are there to do a job and it is their job to pick up the no-ball. It is not an easy job to pick each and every no-ball.”
Wijetunge said that he had accompanied Sri Lanka spinner Akila Dananjaya to Brisbane where the bowler’s action was assessed after it was reported at the end of the first Test at Galle.
“He did the test two days ago in Brisbane. We are waiting for the results. The results will come within 14 days,” said Wijetunge.
On the status on the third Test as it stands at the end of the third day Wijetunge said, “We have not given up hopes. As everyone knows cricket is an unpredictable game. It is not easy to pull off something from this situation. But we are hoping for the best.”
Sri Lanka left with a target of 327 to chase finished the third day on a shaky 53-4.
Giving reasons for the Lankan batsmen’s weakness against spin Wijetunge said, “They have planned for each and every batsman of ours. The execution is perfect and working to plan. Our guys are struggling under pressure. We need to work on that as well. How to handle pressure in international games. As we know we have a young side. When you take the top seven apart from one or two others are learning the game and it will take time.”
England batsman Joss Buttler stated that winning the series 3-0 would be a “fantastic achievement”
“It’d be a great step. Pre-series I’m sure Sri Lanka were favourites having beaten South Africa in that two-match series before. It’s a great accolade for us,” said Buttler who top scored for England with 65.
“It’s been a fantastic environment in the dressing room. I feel as a group everyone pulling in the same direction, enjoying each other’s company, pushing each other. Driving performances. Spoke about being patient a lot with the ball. To gain a 3-0 series win we have to do that again tomorrow.”
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