Wounded Lions seek solace in New Zealand and Australia – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE

 Gunatilleka has much to prove.

Dimuth Karunaratne will be key to Sri Lanka’s revival.

Sri Lanka’s wounded Lions desperately seek some form of solace on their tour of New Zealand that has just begun after a humiliating home series drubbing by the Englishmen recently.

And if New Zealand looms large, the Lankans face the acid test of pitting themselves against Australia followed by similar hostilities in South Africa in the beginning of next year.

Two Tests against the New Zealanders followed by three one-dayers and a T20 game will set them up for the tougher encounters against the Australians , two Tests before they depart to the African leg which will test their worth.

Indifferent form, bad selection and a huge question mark hanging over coach Chandika Hathurusinghe who promised much and has delivered nearly nothing has the Island nation’s cricket in a head spin much akin to the political situation gripping the country as its leaders valiantly attempt to wade through the blundering process of ascertaining the true meaning of democracy and the cricketers the meaning of sportsmanship.

A reasonable showing in New Zealand away from political meddling may yet see an unlikely turnaround although that seems an uphill task against a home team that has been making giant strides at home and away unlike the Lankans who are currently on an all time low in the past few years.

Hathurusinghe left Bangladesh with the credentials to steer a Sri Lankan turnaround and the prospect of a home-grown coach for once taking them to the top of the world game. But the ploy appears to have backfired so far and the popular belief is that internal meddling or some form of interference in the Coaches direction has pushed the talented nation back further than they have anticipated.

With their confidence destroyed at home which the impregnable fortress of visiting teams was once, where to from here is the question on every Sri Lankan fans lips as they ponder what needs to be done to restore lost pride.

Obviously, it is in deciphering where the weaknesses lie and rectifying it. But their inconsistency with the bat and a mediocre bowling attack further compounded by atrocious fielding has them in a position where everything cricket must be addressed. Huge task for a new coach and a fragmented support team from reports coming here which is a clear recipe for a bad brew.

History suggests that a local coach will always struggle to come to terms with having his way in Sri Lanka due to overbearing influences from outside the coaching staff. Furthermore, there is questions lying around the roles of the batting and fielding coach who are said to have extreme views on some players whose natural style is being tampered with creating uncertainty and failure among genuine young talent.

Fielding is crucial to Sri Lanka’s revival considering the few opportunities their limited attack possess.

It is understood that Australian legend Steve Rixon has been roped in to fill this important void and though critics challenge the validity of his selection due to him being a former wicket keeper, he has proved to be invaluable in this role and should be given the opportunity to prove his worth.

Sri Lanka’s on going commitments in New Zealand and Australia will benefit from Rixon’s inclusion to the coaching staff due to his important input into local conditions.

What they need to establish in faster and bouncier conditions in this part of the world will be for the young breed to adapt quickly and find consistency or the tour may end in major embarrassment.

There is plenty of talent in the current Lankan squad but harnessing it and getting them to perform on a consistent basis is the key as the Australians are currently finding out against the world’s best Indian side.

Australia unlike Sri Lanka have natural fighting qualities and will give their all in any situation as was witnessed in the first Test in which they went down narrowly.

Much will depend on Skipper Dinesh Chandimal who has been impressive on previous tours to this part of the world with Angelo Matthews and they should find support from Dimuth Karunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya De Silva, Roshen De Silva and Dhanushka Gunatilleka who are showing clear signs of being the future generation.