November 15 Friday 2002
SL skipper Atapattu looks for improvement

CENTURION, South Africa: Stand-in Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu has called on his side to stand up and be counted when the second Test against South Africa gets underway at Centurion, near Pretoria, on Friday.

Sri Lanka were thrashed by an innings and 64 runs in the first Test at the Wanderers on Sunday and go into Friday's match without regular captain, Sanath Jayasuriya, who damaged the ligaments in his right ankle during training this week. The injury is thought to require two weeks to heal.

Left hander Jehan Mubarak, who made his Test debut against Bangladesh earlier this year, is expected to come into the side in Jayasuriya's absence. Atapattu admitted the loss of the skipper was a major blow for Sri Lanka, but said it was now up to the eleven that take the field on Friday to carry the fight to the South Africans.

"It's a great loss but we have all got to understand that one day we'll have to play without him," Atapattu said. "When Aravinda (de Silva) stepped down I said the same thing. No one is here forever. It is a great loss, I certainly believe that, but we have to hold our heads high and perform."

Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will play in the Centurion Test as he is feeling no pain from a hernia problem, although he is unlikely to feature in the five match one-day series that follows.

Injuries aside, Sri Lanka have an enormous amount of work to do if they are to turn their fortunes around after the huge defeat in the first Test. As on their two previous tours of South Africa, Sri Lanka were exposed at the Wanderers by their inability to deal with a pitch that offered more pace and bounce than the tracks usually prepared to favour spinners in at home.

Even more disturbing for the Sri Lankans was their woeful lack of discipline, as they conceded no less than 62 extras, including 31 no balls and five wides. It was a comparatively large contribution to the South African first innings of 386 but Atapattu expects a more professional performance at Centurion.

"We did so many things wrong in the first Test and we are trying to put them right here. We have had discussions and we know where we went wrong and we'll be trying our utmost to correct that in this Test match," Atapattu said.

It will be the first time Atapattu has captained his country in a Test, although he has led the one-day side. There was never any question that the gifted opening batsman would turn the opportunity down.

"No one can say no to captaining their national side. It's a great privilege to captain your country. "It doesn't really change my own preparations, although obviously I have more things to think about. It's certainly different taking on the responsibility half way through a tour but hopefully I'll handle it well," he said.

South Africa's only concern was over the fitness of opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs. Gibbs pulled out of the first Test 30 minutes before the start of play after injuring his back during the warm-up, but passed a fitness Test on Thursday morning.

South Africa (from): Shaun Pollock (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Ashwell Prince, Martin van Jaarsveld, Mark Boucher, Andrew Hall, Steve Elworthy, Claude Henderson, Makhaya Ntini.

Sri Lanka (from): Marvan Atapattu (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Russell Arnold, Hashan Tillakaratne, Jehan Mubarak, Hasantha Fernando, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Sujeewa de Silva, Chamila Gamage, Thilina Thushara, Tharanga Lakshitha, Muttiah Muralitharan, Prasanna Jayawardene.