South Africa v Sri Lankan – 1st Test – Match Preview
With ICC rankings at stake, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 takes on Sri Lankan in the first Test, played at the SuperSport Park, Centurion, December 15, 2011.
Following the World Cup 2011, almost all cricket nations have seen changes in their hierarchy balance, aiming to build for the next big competition, which will be staged Down Under in four years time. The main memo for every side is to ensure a full fledge platform that ensures stability in their respective domestic circuit which in turn will help the national teams to rise up the ranks.
This most definitely applies to the current two teams in focus – South Africa and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SL-Malinga-c2540, who hung his boots from the longer version.
Their fate follows a similar pattern to that of the Aussies, where they have not been able to cope with deficiencies left from their yesteryear stars, and while the next generation seems promising, it will take time to prepare them to deal with the rigors of having to play non-stop cricket.
Their fortunes have dealt a serious blow statistically, where they lost three Test series on the trot. The bout against the Proteas will certainly test their mettle in terms of dealing with pacer friendly conditions - a total opposite to pitches in the sub-continent.
It has been nine years since Lankans last toured the African side, which does make their task a little harder. Also with only one practice game to count to (where one day was washed due to rain), the batting has had little time to spend on the crease.
Their main strength arguably will lie in playing around their veteran duo, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TT-Samaraweera-c2712 can come good, the bowlers will certainly get enough assistance to have their presence felt. So overall, it’s up to them to count on their stronger points, which remains playing as a unit.
The hosts however, offer plenty of fire power in their ranks and can rely on one or two players to get them back on track following the loss against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. Apart from aiming for their first home series win in over three years, their biggest endeavour will be to follow consistency and fulfill their potential.
Very often, we have seen the Proteas buckling under pressure and a poor outing against the Lankans will raise some serious questions. Their chances are positive when one looks at their playing XI, which has the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Allan-Robert-Border-c43726 de Villiers in the top order, while their bowling attack looks as daunting as ever.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/M-Morkel-c73528 being used as the third seamer, they have plenty of options to count on.
The pitch at Centurion is expected to be a green track – a bowler’s paradise. Scoring therefore will remain tough however; the main concern lies in the weather which will remain overcast for the next five days.
A series win by 2-0 margin for the hosts will see them leapfrog http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 Test ranking.
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