The tourists face a daunting prospect on a dry pitch, even though they will feel more competent against the turning ball than on previous trips
Trial by spin. That was the likely scenario for the Australian men’s Test team, as posed by Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne. Softly spoken and not inclined to swagger, the content of the message rather than the delivery held a challenge for Australia, with the likelihood that Sri Lanka will take four spin options into the first Test at Galle.
“Last time we had two fast bowlers, we did not use one,” said Karunaratne, referring to last year’s Test against West Indies when his quicks Suranga Lakmal and Dushantha Chameera bowled 14 overs between them across two innings. Lakmal was not required at all in the second dig.
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