Andy Flower on playing Sri Lanka: What Is It Really Like?
Andy Flower has played in all Zimbabwe's official matches against Sri Lanka, nine Tests and 16 one-day internationals to date
John Ward
02-Dec-1999
Andy Flower has played in all Zimbabwe's official matches against
Sri Lanka, nine Tests and 16 one-day internationals to date. He
also scored his only one-day century to date on his debut against
Sri Lanka in the World Cup of 1991/92. Here he tells John Ward
what it is like to play against the Sri Lankans.
JW: Andy, when you think about playing the Sri Lankans, what
particular characteristics do you think of?
AF: Usually what springs to mind straight away are the three key
players they have had in recent years: Murali, Aravinda de Silva
and Arjuna Ranatunga.
Murali has taken a lot of wickets against us in the past, not so
much in Zimbabwe but in Sri Lanka. In Zimbabwe the last time
they came here he was fairly well nullified, mainly I think
because Dave Houghton played him so competently, and in fact they
left him out of a Test here in Harare. He was pretty young at
that stage and certainly had not developed that top-spinner that
he bowls so well now. But he certainly took a lot of wickets and
caused us a lot of problems in Sri Lanka.
Aravinda de Silva I think has been one of the top three batsmen
in the world in the last six or seven years. I think he's a
beautiful player and I love watching him play. He's a guy who
often scored big and quick runs against us, and a very dangerous
player.
Arjuna I think always led the Sri Lankan side really well. He's
a very combative character and I think he gives strength to the
Sri Lankan side. Perhaps he's a little past it now, and that
must be one of the reasons they left him out.
JW: And the special characteristics of the way they play the
game?
AF: Very aggressively when they bat; they play their shots, and
not just Jayasuriya. Aravinda is obviously a good puller of the
ball and if fact a lot of their right-handers love to pull. They
will have a go at it outside off stump as well, so they score
runs at a fair rate, and they will also give chances. I think
we're always in with a chance whenever we bowl against them.
On bowling, I think Vaas has been a very good performer for them
over the years; he's a top-class bowler. He can get the ball to
move both ways, swinging it in, and then he's got the one that
goes across the right-hander, and a very well-directed bouncer,
even though he's not express pace, and never wastes it.
The other seamers I don't think are of the same quality, but they
are useful. A guy like Wickramasinghe runs in really hard - a
very experienced bowler who hits the deck hard, as we saw in this
last Test. Zoysa has been in and out with injury all the time,
but he's tall and gets bounce, and can swing it both ways. He
should be useful if he stays fit.
JW: Surprising that he should take that hat-trick, but fail to
cause much trouble after that.
AF: I think that was the normal first-morning Harare Sports Club
pitch, allied with a good opening spell of bowling. Jayasuriya
doesn't rate him that highly with the older ball because he
hardly used him as the ball got older.
Then there are their spinners, notably Murali; everyone knows
what he's done. Over 220 wickets in 47 Test matches is something
special, especially for an off-spin bowler, except that he is
really more of a wrist-spinner than a spinner.
JW: I was surprised to see that the left-arm spinner Jayantha
Silva, who took a lot of wickets against us in Sri Lanka, didn't
come on tour.
AF: I think all the left-arm spinners they've used in recent
have tended to be effective only on Sri Lankan wickets. But
outside Sri Lanka they're not that effective at all. The pitches
there spin a couple of feet even on the first day. Silva also
has a top-spinner that he flicks out of his wrist, fairly similar
to the one Murali has, and that gave our guys a lot of trouble in
Sri Lanka. But out here he hasn't the same degree of spin to
work with, or the big variation when he does bowl his
top-spinner, so batsmen would find him easier to play.
JW: And Sri Lanka in the field?
AF: I've always thought they were a really good fielding side.
Their slip catching I think is brilliant; I know they dropped one
here in this last Test but that's really rare for me to see. I
think they have lovely hands in the slips and they catch the ball
beautifully. They cover a lot of ground. In the inner circle
they are really quick. A lot of them are slight of build and are
really quick over the ground and have very good arms, so they are
really dangerous in those areas.
I think during their heyday in one-day cricket that was one of
the things that shone through. They used to pick up one or two
run-outs regularly during an innings.
JW: And the way they play the game tactically in the field?
AF: When Arjuna was captain he used to use a lot of in-out
fields for their spinners. He attacked with men round the bat,
but if you did play an aggressive shot he would block that shot
straight away with a fielder in a defensive position
three-quarters of the way to the boundary, enticing you to hit it
back over the top but still keeping his attacking field round the
bat. That was one of the noticeable ploys he used with his
spinners. He relied on Vaas to strike with the new ball, and
then he wheeled away with his spin.
We have had a few run-ins with the Sri Lankans over the years
because they are obviously very hungry to win. They have not
been too bad in the sledging stakes but I think their appealing
is excessive. [Note by JW: many of the Sri Lankans do not appeal
just once but shout two or three times, which eventually must
affect the umpires.]
JW: What sort of guys are they off the field?
AF: I think they're nice guys and I've generally got on well
with them. They're nice people, always cheerful and friendly.
When we tour Sri Lanka that's one of the first things I noticed.
The crowd is always very noisy and happy, and I think it's great
to play cricket there. We've got to know a few of them well over
the years, guys like Murali and Pushpakumara and Aravinda.
Grant, Murray and I went to speak to Aravinda about batting on
our last tour there and he was more than willing to speak to us
about it: building an innings, the things he concentrates on when
he bats, some of the things he works on in practice and
preparation. We've got quite friendly and I've spoken to Arjuna
about captaincy and tactics before, so even though we've had our
differences on the field, off the field we've been fine.
JW: Can you recall some of the greatest individual performances
Sri Lankans have put up against us in the past?
AF: I think whenever Aravinda scored runs that was something
quite special, and I also think we've seen something special in
Murali; I think he's a special type of off-spinner that we won't
see much of in world cricket - a wrist-spinning off-spinner. I
can't really pin down any specific performances.
JW: What about some of the less well-known players, like perhaps
Mahatma, who has a great one-day record against us but hardly
scored a run in Tests? Any reasons you can think of why?
AF: No, I can't! A guy like Gurusinha has done very well
against us in Test matches, but Mahanama has done badly in Tests.
But I think he was susceptible early on to the new ball in Test
cricket when you have three slips and a gully, and I think Heath
Streak has knocked him over a few times, nicking edges and lbw.