Lanka may exploit worn pitch with three spinners

Sri Lanka may exploit a pitch used three days earlier and employ three specialist spinners for the second match in a row in Tuesday’s World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Colombo.

To New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori’s consternation, the match will be played on the pitch used in last Saturday’s quarter-final against England.

“They told us we are playing on the same one as England which is very surprising for us,” Vettori told a news conference on Monday. “We would have thought it is mandatory to prepare a fresh wicket, but obviously not.”

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said pace bowler Nuwan Kulasekara, who did not play against England, had performed well against New Zealand.

“Playing three spinners is a question we have to ask ourselves today. Nuwan Kulasekara has done exceptionally well against New Zealand every single time he has gone out there so he is a strong contender to play,” he said.

“But the role of spinners seems to overshadow the role of pacers due to the matches being played in pitches where a lot of matches have been already played.”

New Zealand have a good overall one-day record against Sri Lanka, due primarily to their home matches where green pitches and cool weather provide alien conditions for Asian teams.

The reverse will apply on Tuesday with heat, stifling humidity and a low, slow pitch.

To compound New Zealand’s difficulties, Sri Lanka have the best-balanced attack in the tournament with Lasith Malinga’s fast, slingy yorkers supplementing the spin attack, Reuters reports.

ICC clarifies its choice of used pitch

The International Cricket Council (ICC) clarified the use of the quarter-final pitch for the World Cup semifinal between Sri Lanka and New Zealand on Tuesday.

“The reason the same pitch is being used is because it played well during the quarterfinal,” said ICC spokesman James Fitzgerald. “It was evenly paced and the decision was made to play the game on a surface which would make for a good contest.”

The pitch had good bounce and pace but was a tad slow. It was noticeable how the surface was “stopping” during part of the England innings.

Sri Lanka have the advantage of knowing about the wicket after they thrashed England over the weekend at the Premadasa — which will be hosting its 101th One-day International.

While Sri Lankan captain, Kumar Sangakkara made no comment on the pitch, New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori commented how he found it.

“Pretty surprising that we are playing on the same pitch (used for the quarterfinal) which is being used for a semifinal,” he said “It is the fact that it is a used surface that may allow us to play a third spinner.”