Sri Lanka call the Hamilton pitch 'doctored for understandable reasons'

Sri Lanka interim coach Jerome Jayaratne has commented on the Hamilton pitch for the second Test against NZ.

From the chilly winds in Dunedin that had the Sri Lankan players complaining about the weather all week, they have discovered a much graver problem on their arrival in the much warmer Hamilton.

The pitch, the most nonchalant yet game-defining entity has risen to the occasion again, almost as green as the rest of the ground, much to the dismay of the Sri Lankan interim coach Jerome Jayaratne, who’s aggrieved on not being provided an opportunity to test the three specialist spinners that they have brought on tour.

A look at the recent history shows the Seddon Park in good light for the spinners. Daniel Vettori has, for years, used the venue as his hunting ground for the Northern Districts, while in the most recent Test there, Sunil Narine picked up 6 for 91.

"My intelligence tells me that it has been known to take spin as the game goes on," Jayaratne said.

"But I am assuming here that the wicket has been doctored to suit the New Zealanders, which is understandable. There is more than 18 millimetres of grass on the wicket."

Lot of grass on track: Jayaratne

Taking a hint from the past results, the Lankans had expected this surface to assist the spinners, as offspinners Dilruwan Perera, and the uncapped Jeffrey Vandersay, who have travelled with the squad so far, were in contention for the game.

Jayaratne however expects this pitch to have more bounce and carry than the one in Dunedin. "They're looking for a lot of moisture and sideways movement. I think it will be different from the Hamilton wickets before. As the game goes on, it might slow down, but for now there's a lot of grass on the track," he said.

Sri Lanka’s batting has come under sharp focus in this series as they haven’t been able to score quickly enough. The fact that they batted 50.4 overs more than New Zealand did but still ended up 122 runs short is a testimony to it.

The conservative batting approach adopted by the visitors partly led to their downfall at Dunedin, although they might have to consider its merits yet again given that the Hamilton pitch would be at par if not more hostile than Dunedin for the visiting batsmen.

"The batting approach is a debatable one, and we've been discussing this during as well as after the game," Jayaratne said.

"In the recent past we have not gone past 75 overs, and we managed to bat 117 and 95 overs in that first Test. They need to occupy the crease out there as well - but at the same time you need to get runs.”

“Maybe you would have been slightly negative. We couldn't raise our run rate during the game. But it's a very experienced bowling attack and you hardly get opportunities.”

“Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne got runs by occupying the wicket," said Jayaratne.

Need to bowl tighter lines: Jayaratne

The coach expressed full faith in the abilities of the side while taking out positives from the batting approach, mentioning that the temperament required for Test Cricket was shown by their batsmen when they occupied the crease.

"Our guys have talent and the skill, but the adaptation is the most important thing. That comes through experience.”

“You saw guys getting into 30s and 40s, but the conversions weren't coming. We were not quite tight enough."

He also lauded the New Zealand bowlers calling them a good bowling attack, but at the same time mentioned that his batsmen learnt a lot playing some good bowling in the first Test.

“You can't just fend one bowler away and try to capitalise on the other bowler, because the other guy comes fresh as well. It's very hard work.”

“Test cricket is a test of patience and skill. I think we have the skill, it's just the patience and picking the correct ball - that's what they have to make their mind up about.”

He called on the Sri Lankan players to develop the correct temperament for the game while also asking the seamers to make use of the conditions unlike what they did in the last game.

"I think we need to improve our lines a little bit more. If our lines were tighter we could have kept them under control in Dunedin. I think we'll bowl a little bit straighter to them and make them play, more often than not."

Bowling first, the Sri Lankan fast bowlers were unable to capitalize on the conditions and the pitch as they allowed New Zealand batsmen to prosper and put up 431 in their first innings.