http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Arjuna-Ranatunga-c45447 urges Sri Lanka to strengthen middle order
Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga has urged the team to strengthen its middle order if they want to lift their second World Cup trophy in 2011.
The 47-year-old, who led http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 to their first-ever World Cup title in 1996, was concerned about the middle order of Sri Lankan cricket team and suggested that either the captain Kumar Sangakkara or the middle order veteran Mahela Jayawardene
should move down the order in a bid to bolster it.
“The middle-order batting is a concern for me,” said Ranatunga. “Kumar and Mahela should not be batting at number three and four. One of them has to come down to number five to bolster the middle order.”
The cricketer-turned-politician feels the right-handed Kandy batsman Chamara Kapugedera should be sent at number four and was confident that the 23-year-old would spark if sent up the order.
Chamara Kapugedera, who averages 23 from 84 One-day appearances, has so far failed to wash away qualms about his power hitting ability in the later stages of an innings. The other batsman whose performance down the order has been under scrutiny
is the 34-year-old Thilan Samaraweera who averages 27.70 in One-day cricket.
The left-hander said that Sri Lanka have a well-balanced squad which has the potential to lift the coveted trophy once again.
“Sri Lanka have built a very good team,” said the former president of Sri Lanka Cricket Board. “We have an all-round side. The bowling looks really good with Muralitharan and Malinga.”
The island nation’s prospects would heavily depend upon how well the all-rounder Angelo Mathews performs in the mega event. The medium pacer has claimed 27 wickets from 34 One-dayers and averages above 33 with the bat.
Ranatunga, however, said that asking Mathews to bat in the middle-order would put an extra pressure on him, which might not go in his favour.
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