http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760-Sri Lanka Test series ends in draw
Kumar Sangakkara the captain of the Sri Lankan team has described his team’s Test series against the West Indies as the worst of his career, after all three matches were marred by bad weather, resulting in a nil-nil stalemate.
The left-handed batsman was clearly perturbed at the timing of the series in one of the wettest spells in Sri Lankan history and has asked cricket administrators to take into account weather patterns in future in order to avoid such damp
squibs.
The third and final Test at the brand new venue of Pallekele was the worst hit of the three as not even a single innings was completed throughout the five days, two of which were rained out without a single ball being bowled.
At the end of the match, where the tourists scored 303/8 in their incomplete first innings, Sangakkara expressed his disappointment at the weather marred encounter.
"It's pretty frustrating and it's tough. I haven't seen rain like this in a long time. It was pretty frustrating to sit in the dressing room and watch the rain".
Sangakkara added that the various cricket boards around the World need to be careful in scheduling cricket matches and they needed to analyse weather patterns properly before hosting Test matches:
"It is tough these days because the weather's all topsy-turvy. It would have been nice to see if we had alternative venues as well to see if one failed and the weather was not great and preparations were not great we could have gone somewhere
else. But the reports I hear is that it is raining everywhere. I don't know how feasible that would have been. But it's always nice to have something as a back up".
The series has been a big let-down for the hosts as they slip to number five in ICC’s Test rankings for teams, on the flip side the team management was happy with the performance of the two spin bowlers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ajantha-c42419 Mendis and Rangana Herath,
besides the fine batting performance put up by left handed opener Tharanga Paranavitana.
Meanwhile, the West Indian captain Darren Sammy, who led his team for the first time in a Test series, stated that he was satisfied with the performance of his players and felt that they could have won the opening Test match at Galle if
luck would have favoured them a tad more.
The series had started outstandingly for Sammy and his team, as left handed opener Chris Gayle, who had relinquished captaincy before the series smashed a belligerent triple century in the first innings there.
Sammy observed that his team dominated the Galle Test and hung in well at Colombo in the second Test besides making a fist of it with the bat in their unfinished innings at Pallekele.
"When we left, we said we will settle for a draw or a win. Despite the weather, which has been totally out of our control, the one Test match where we had five days of cricket (at Galle) we basically dominated", Sammy said.
"We all like to see cricket being played. When we left, everyone said 15 days of good competitive Test cricket. But that was not due to the weather. It can be frustrating. Sometimes you are on and off. You prepare yourself mentally then
you know you have to be focused again. But as professionals, you do a job whenever you are called up".
The two teams are now eyeing the five match ODI series that follows the Test matches. The series is important for the build-up to the 2011 ODI World Cup that is set to take place in the Indian Subcontinent.
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