Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford shows confidence in his pace attack

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford, who is serving his second term with Sri Lanka, states that he hopes that the bowlers have come of age and will use their experience to deliver even better results.

“I think we’ve got a bowling group that’s grown into a useful attack,” Ford said ahead of the team’s departure from Colombo on Wednesday (May 4). “They’ve all experienced success in English conditions. I’m quietly confident that they’ll be able to work together and create pressure in English conditions.

Sri Lankan pace attack looks penetrative on paper. The five pacers who have been picked for the tour have first hand experience of playing in England and now the conditions well. Dhammika Prasad, Sri Lanka’s most successful bowler in 2015 will spearhead the attack. He will have Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal and Dushmantha Chameera alongside him.

“I hope they’ve improved because they’ve played a lot of Test cricket since my first stint. I did feel that when I was here previously, quite a lot of them were learning the art of fast bowling. Some of them were still fairly raw. They’ve now played a lot more cricket, and I’m sure they’re more streetwise.”

The pair of Eranga and Lakmal had a rough 2015, often finding themselves out of the side due to injuries. However, the other three fast bowlers – Prasad, Pradeep and Chameera, found success at home and on seamer-friendly tracks in New Zealand. Prasad’s numbers in 2015 were impressive and have assumed the mantle of being the leader of the bowling pack since his five-fer in Leeds two seasons ago.

“Some of the quicks have had good success in England – they know the kind of lengths they’ve got to bowl,” Ford said. “It is going to be crucial that they find the right length on each particular surface when we get into the Test matches. Those lengths might vary slightly. It’ll be about assessing very quickly what’s the right length. I think they’re much more mature as cricketers.”

The team’s young batsmen, who have, so far, failed to step up in the post-Sangakkara and Jayawardene era, offer Ford his biggest test. The Islanders won only one Test series last year, against West Indies, losing four others. And in most of the losses was attributed to collective batting failures.

“In our batting group, having lost a couple of senior players, there are some new young guys who have come in,” Ford said. “They’ve worked extremely hard in the last few weeks. We’ve been fortunate enough in Colombo to train on some pitches that are similar to what we’re likely to get in England. That’s been pleasing to see how those younger players have been adapting to those conditions. Of course, it’s going to be a huge mental challenge for them because it is going to be about grinding out big hundreds. A lot of that comes from having done it and experience.”

Unlike the 2014 tour, where Sri Lanka played the shorter forms first before the Tests, this time, they will play two practice games at Chelmsford and Leicester before entering the Test series. The first two Tests will be in the coldest places in England in May – Leeds and Durham. So, Sri Lanka has to get accustomed to the conditions quickly.

“Any team going to England in the early summer finds it hard,” Ford said. “Especially coming from the subcontinent, it’s more of an adjustment. As has been documented, it is a team in transition, so some extra challenges probably face us. But it is exciting anyway to see how the young lads step up, and to see whether they’re up for international cricket and whether they want to be international cricketers for a long period of time.

“A lot of it is about the mental strength. In foreign conditions, different things are going on – crowd pressure, etc. We know that England will come hard at us and mental strength is important. I think there’s some opportunity for the cricketers to show us that they are tough. In days gone by, that is what people admired about Sri Lankan cricket – they said the players were so tough mentally. Maybe there are a few question marks about that now, and it’s time for us to start putting that right.”

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