We can’t risk Malinga in Test cricket, clarifies http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Graham-Xavier-Ford-c60657 – Cricket News Update
Graham Ford, the coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team, has made it clear that his side has no plans of drafting http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 at Melbourne and said that
the team management does not want to risk their premier fast bowler ahead of an important limited-over series against the hosts.
The 29-year-old cricketer, who made his way to the global stage in 2004, is considered to be one of the most threatening fast bowlers produced by the Island. However, Malinga has struggled with injuries throughout his career, forcing
him to quit playing the longer version of the sport in 2010.
On the other side of the coin, the Lankans have been struggling to deliver the goods in Test cricket since the retirement of Malinga, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Chaminda-Vaas-c1223, winning just one Test series over the last couple of years.
Their bowling attack has looked weak in the on-going first Test of the three-match series at Hobart, with the hosts scoring more than seven hundred runs in their two innings.
There have been rumours that the Sri Lankan team management is inclined towards bringing back Malinga in Test cricket to bolster their bowling line-up. However, Ford has expressed that the right-arm swing bowler is very precious for
the Island’s limited-over squad and cannot be put under any kind of a danger.
“We've spoken to Lasith on and off about the possibility of him playing some Test cricket. But it is seen as too much of a risk to get him bowling longer spells,” Ford said. “He is such a weapon for us in the shorter form of the game, the length of his career
in those departments is still really important to us, so I don't think we would be tempted to use him for Boxing Day.”
The coach is of the view that Malinga is going to play a vital role in the forthcoming limited-over series, which begins from January 11, with the first ODI at Melbourne.
“It would be nice to have him available, but we have a one-day series ahead after the Tests which he will be crucial for,” he added.
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