Jayasuriya suffers from serious form loss as SL take on NZ | Compaq Cup 2009 - 1st ODI

Sanath Jayasuriya is going through a worrying trough 

With only 15 days until the Champions Trophy you'd think the teams' preparations would be ready for the final polish. But Sri Lanka and New Zealand still have a few experiments to complete and players to evaluate in their last chance before the bigger competition.

Both Sri Lanka and New Zealand are reliant on explosive openers and two men behind, with a worrying degree of rawness in the middle- and lower-orders. Both also carry a mixture of inexperienced batsmen and those whose potential remains unfulfilled due to a flawed approach at the crease.

Sanath Jayasuriya's lack of form is a serious concern. "We'd like to keep Sanath out of form, but we know that a player of his class can strike at any time," was Daniel Vettori's assessment.

Sangakkara addressed Sri Lanka's concerns on the eve of the tournament but was confident of a change in limited-overs fortunes when the teams stepped into the 50-over format. "You can read into a loss and come up with a number of theories but it's best to just deal with it and move on. The reality is that New Zealand outplayed us," he said. "It was unfortunate that we lost the first game after having such a strong start from Dilshan. In the second game, we were second best all throughout. One-day cricket is a different ball game. There are more overs and you have more time. You have to raise your standards. I'm confident of our abilities." 

Sanath Jayasuriya fails in second grade team

Veteran Sanath Jayasuriya failed to make use of the opportunity given to him by the national cricket selectors ahead of the forthcoming home Tri-Series, when he was dismissed cheaply yesterday in a warm up game against New Zealand at the SSC grounds Colombo.

Jayasuriya faced eleven deliveries and scored just two runs before being caught behind by Gareth Hopkins off paceman Darrell Tuffey with the total of Sri Lanka “A” team reading just seven.

Tuffey dealt another blow in his next over removing promising youngster Mahela Udawatte to restrict the home team to 13 for 2.

Earlier in a surprise move that sent a signal about their thinking, Sri Lanka national cricket selectors  included Jayasuriya in the Sri Lanka “A” team to play New Zealand in the warm-up game.

The 40-year old former Sri Lanka captain has been in terrible form in recent times and has been a worry to the team at the top of the order, totalling just 132 at 18.66 in his last seven One Day International innings since January this year.

National selectors have also come under heavy fire for persisting with Jayasuriya despite the failures, and including him in the warm up game sent a message to Jayasuriya that his place in the side is under evaluation.

Jayasuriya has retired from Test cricket and didn’t have many opportunities to face quality international bowling in the middle since late, and was obviously rusty as his shaky batting proved during the two Twenty20 internationals against New Zealand last week.

Today’s warm up game was meant to give him an opportunity to get himself back in the groove. 

Jayasuriya however, does not face an immediate threat to his place in the Sri Lanka ODI team as he has already been named in the country's 15-member final squad for the ICC Champions Trophy tournament which begins in South Africa shortly.

Source : Daily Mirror . lk