Siddharth Monga
Will Hasaranga be the gamechanger?
Farveez Maharoof looks at Sri Lanka’s best attacking options against South Africa
Dust blowing. Not on the field but abroad. That’s the first thing you notice about the cricket at the Nassau County International Cricket Ground just outside of New York City. The next thing you see is that the ball clogs. It doesn’t get shut down like we’re used to seeing in fairly standard cricket conditions on TV these days. It’s a sandy outdoor area where athletes won’t be lining up to dive.
Then there’s the drop-in pitch. In the warm-up game between India and Bangladesh played two days before the stadium hosted its first World Cup match, the ball rolled and also sat on the surface. Again, these are anything but standard conditions. And for reasons that have not been explained to the South African and Sri Lankan teams, they go into the match without any practice at the actual home ground.
Which is exactly why South Africa called for at least one fielding session in the actual outfield after they ran out of nets at Cantiague Park, another facility outside New York City. Even during the India-Bangladesh match, their coach Rob Walter and bowling coach Eric Simons took the opportunity to come to the venue and check the conditions.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be visiting the venue for the first time when they come for the match. They even canceled their net session at Cantiague Park. They decided that what they saw from the warm-up game on TV is all they need to know. This is not as dramatic as it sounds because the conditions are a bit like Sri Lanka: sticky pitch, heavy outfield. They have seen this in their other training sessions as well.
“First of all, we prepared very well,” Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasaranga said. “We came two weeks earlier to North Carolina and practiced there. And we played two practices in Florida. And I think as a team, we prepared very well. And the conditions are similar to Sri Lanka. So, I think as a team we prepared very well.” .
However, you can detect some disgust with Sri Lanka. First, their flight to New York was delayed seven hours. Then, unlike India and South Africa, they stay in downtown Brooklyn, which makes it quite a trip to the ground. In fact, when asked about the adjustment to the morning starts of this World Cup – to cater to the TV audience in India – Hasaranga did not fail to mention the trip to the ground.
“No, if we played under lights, then we have to prepare, with the pitch and everything under lights,” Hasaranga said when asked if they had to make adjustments in the first starts. “Then the only concern is that we have to get to the ground early. We have to come at 7.30 in the morning because we are so far from the ground. It will take about an hour and a half on the ground. That’s the only concern we have.”
Hasaranga is not wrong. During the warm-up game, almost everyone struggled to get to the ground with police blocking the entrances to Eisenhower Park, where the stadium is housed. Everyone hopes there is better coordination between the police and the ICC on match day when the roads will be closed at 7.30am. for everyone except team buses.
South Africa Batters vs Sri Lanka spinners
Morne Morkel and Farveez Maharoof look ahead to the start of the teams’ tournament
And then there is the frequent travel for them. Along with the Netherlands, Sri Lanka are one of the only two teams to play all four first-round matches at four different venues. So they will be in a race-travel-train-optional train-race cycle until the first round.
We can sometimes not appreciate the little challenges that can pile up with these everyday things. For example, when you’re asked to train at another venue the day before a match, it goes like this: you load the cricket kit at the hotel onto the team bus, then unload it at the training facility, then load it again and go to your hotel, then unload it morning at the ground and reload because you have to travel immediately and you can’t afford to play another match at the same venue.
South Africa were more philosophical about the logistical challenges that are part of coming to a new country, which is also unaccustomed to hosting cricket but can play three matches in New York. Even they were confused that they had to train elsewhere. They didn’t know the reason. Asked if they would prefer to train at home for the match, their captain Aiden Markram said: “It’s hard to say because I’m not sure what. [training facility] it is there [at the venue of the match], because I haven’t been there. This facility is incredible to be honest, so we don’t mind training here either.”
Sidharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo