COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, CMC – Shane Shillingford being reported for a suspected illegal bowling action has overshadowed Sulieman Benn’s return, and has conspired to distract West Indies ahead of the pivotal second Test against Sri Lanka, starting tomorrow (midnight Monday Guyana time) at the Premadasa Stadium.
The International Cricket Council announced on Saturday that the bowling action of off-spinner Shillingford was now under review, after concerns from the umpires, following the first Test against Sri Lanka, which ended in a draw on Friday at the Galle International Stadium.
New West Indies captain Darren Sammy has chosen to remain positive about the situation, and is looking forward to the off-spinner playing a major role in the Test.
“I don’t see Shane’ situation as a problem,” he told CMC Sport Wire. “As a team, we’re staying positive.
“Shane had a great match at Galle, and he is looking forward to be a part of the team at the Premadasa as well.”
Sammy will be looking to Shillingford and Benn, the beanpole left-arm spinner, to exploit typically sub-continental conditions.
Shillingford collected five wickets for 202 runs in the first Test, and there were times, when Benn would have come in handy had he not been serving a ban for unsportsmanlike conduct in his previous Test against South Africa last July on home soil in Barbados.
“Benn has been our best bowler in the last year, and having him back in the team will most certainly be a boost for the team and a boost to our chances of recording a victory,” said Sammy.
“The way Shane bowled in the first Test, we know Benn is also capable of doing a similar job, and with them as a pair, we can put more pressure on the Sri Lankans, so it is great to have our best bowler back playing Test cricket for us.”
Benn is likely to take the place of Test newcomer Andre Russell, but Sammy and coach Ottis Gibson must be concerned that Dwayne Bravo has been a shadow of himself with the ball. He has taken just 11 wickets at 42.54 apiece in seven Tests over the last 12 months.
Sammy however, expressed more concern about the batting of Bravo, and others like himself that failed to build on Chris Gayle’s second Test triple-hundred of 333.
“Although we had a very good start with Chris playing an amazing knock of 333, and getting some excellent support from Barath, Darren Bravo and Nash, we suffered a batting collapse in the lower order,” he said. “That’s something we spoke about and an area we have to improve on.
“Another area is our lines and lengths, when we bowl. We had a lot of runs scored in boundaries in some parts of the innings, so we need to tighten up on our ‘four-balls’, and build more pressure when we bowl.”
He added: “We did a lot of good things in the first Test, and we want to maintain this. We came in as the underdogs, but we set high standards, and we our is aim to maintain those standards.
“We want to get better and look to make strides forward. The work ethic has been good, and I have no doubt the guys will be coming out to do even better than we did in the first Test.”
Already seeking their first Test win ever in Sri Lanka, it would appeared needing to win the Test to stay alive in the series is additional pressure for West Indies, but Sammy disagreed.
“It’s equal pressure on both teams,” he said. “We just had a Test match where we dictated the pace, and were in a position to win.
“When we left the Caribbean, we said we would play with pride, passion, and commitment. We showed energy and discipline, and now we have to strive for the consistency, and to be hungry for more success.”
Sri Lanka’s response to the outcome of the first Test has been to drop fast bowlers Dammika Prasad and Thilan Thushara, and recall seamer Nuwan Kulasekara, and include a newcomer Shaminda Eranga in their 16-member squad.
The pair will boost the fast bowling stock with Dilhara Fernando and another uncapped Test fast bowler Suranga Lakmal, with key strike bowler Lasith Malinga again sidelined with fitness issues.
The change follows criticism of the bowling in the opening Test by Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara.
“The first six overs were probably okay, although we didn’t make the batsmen play too much,” he said.
“But after that I thought the lines and the lengths we bowled were not good enough for us to put any pressure on them either to get wickets, or to cut down on the runs.”
He continued: “It’s two things on these tracks. No.1 is to try and make the new ball work for us. If it doesn’t work in picking up wickets, we need to build up pressure by bowling one side of the wicket to one set field.
“It’s nice to limit them to one side, and dry the runs up. Those are the things we got to do a bit better, and when that happens, with our spinners, we can build a lot of pressure.”
Only six Tests have taken place at the Premadasa Stadium, since its first 18 years ago. Sri Lanka have won two, New Zealand one, and the other three have all ended in draws.
Both sides admit not knowing the nature of the pitch will be a handicap, but they will have to adapt, and stick to their disciplines.
Squads: SRI LANKA (from): Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga, Dilhara Fernando, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Prasanna Jayawardene, Thilina Kandamby, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Tharanga Paranavitana, Suraj Randiv, Thilan Samaraweera, Kaushal Silva
WEST INDIES (from): Darren Sammy (captain), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh Jr, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, Brendan Nash, Nelon Pascal, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Shane Shillingford, Devon Smith, Devon Thomas
UMPIRES: Asad Rauf, Richard Kettleborough, TV Replays: Steve Davis.
