Rex Clementine in Sydney
Imagine the International Cricket Council or Cricket Australia saying to the Sri Lankan captain you can play two games of the World Cup at one venue and you can even chose that venue. A number of skippers from Arju to the incumbent would opt for Sydney Cricket Ground. Not because Sydney is one of the world’s most expensive cities to live in, but the conditions are generally favourable for Sri Lankan style of play.
Sydney is the venue where Australia usually played their last Test of the summers. It’s called the New Year Test. This is where Shane Warne used to get a spinning partner at home games. It used to be Stuart MacGill. Sydney has always been a two spin venue. Before Warne-MacGill it used to be Greg Matthews and Bob Holland and prior to them they had Ashley Mallet and Terry Jenner. In 1960s it was Richie Benaud and Tom Veivers. Benaud probably started the practice. He could have it his way as he was the last spinner to captain Australia. Warne would have made a fine captain too. But his off the field excesses proved to be too much of a distraction. Hence his title, ‘the best captain that Australia never had.’
But who cares about Benaud and all? Most of our generation know Benaud as a commentator. So is Ravi Shastri! For a man who scored a double hundred at SCG, Ravi is nowadays the guy who does the toss before every India game. People hardly remember that he nearly scored 4000 Test runs and his left-arm spin fetched more than 150 Test wickets.
Coming back to Sri Lanka, they will love the conditions here. Their games against New Zealand and England are sandwiched between the one at the Gabba against Afghanistan. If they win two of those encounters and don’t let their Net Run Rate to suffer, they are in with a good chance of making it to the semis. After the hammering he got in Perth, Wanindu Hasaranga will be out to prove a point. Take all the gossip about him in social media with a pinch of salt. Since Kumar Sangakkara, no body works as hard as him at training. He’ll love the conditions and so will Maheesh Theekshana and there’s Dhananjaya de Silva for back up. That’s 12 overs of spin and Sri Lanka should fancy their chances.
Sri Lanka’s batting has relied largely on Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka so far. Captain Dasun Shanaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa are yet to fire and when they come good, Sri Lanka are a deadly side.
Sydney is also a tourism hub and one of world’s most expensive cities. A one hour train journey from Melbourne central would cost you about AUD 4.50. If you are lucky enough to be in Perth, public
transport within the city is free, with free wi-fi and ports to charge your phone. The same one hour journey from Sydney central would cost you a whooping AUD 22.50, no wi-fi and no charging spots. Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Blue Mountains, Bondi Beach, Sydney Aquarium, the newly built Madame Tussauds are top attractions.