ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2019

501 Sri Lanka in 2018/19 In the 2018/19 season Sri Lanka played more Test matches than anyone else – nine, spread over four series. And there were two more in the 2019 ‘summer’ season. But these eleven matches brought only three victories, against seven defeats, and although the three wins all came in their last four matches, there was little to suggest that a full-scale revival of their Test fortunes was under way.  They began by losing a home series to England for the first time since 2000/01 – and by a 3-0 margin. As ever in Sri Lanka the spinners dominated, taking over 90% of the wickets that fell to bowlers in the series (a new Test record for any series of three matches or more), including a record 38 wickets in the second Test at Pallekele. Only M.D.K. (Dilruwan) Perera, with 22 wickets over the three matches, could take much comfort from his side’s performances. The first Test of the series was the last for stalwart left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, whose 433 wickets over his near-20-year Test career had undone many an opponent, and whose wiles would be greatly missed.  A heroic rearguard action by Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews saved Sri Lanka from probable defeat in the first of their two Tests in New Zealand, but the home side’s quick bowlers had things their own way in the second Test as Sri Lanka lost by 423 runs – their heaviest defeat by runs in any Test. Two more big defeats followed in Australia, where the visitors were comprehensively outbatted and outbowled throughout.  With their fortunes seemingly at a low ebb, Sri Lanka cannot have been too optimistic ahead of a two-match series in unfamiliar conditions in South Africa in February. But South Africa were on the decline, and Sri Lanka came away with a 2-0 victory – the first series win in South Africa by any visiting side other than England and Australia. The win in the first Test owed everything to a monumental innings by M.D.K.J. (Kusal) Perera. It was an innings that bears comparison with Brian Lara’s match-winner at Bridgetown in 1998/99, as – chasing 304 in the fourth innings to win – Perera piloted the lower order from 110-5, 215-8 and 226-9 to a famous one-wicket victory. The win was secured by a record-breaking unbroken last-wicket partnership of 78, in which Perera faced 68 deliveries and scored 67 runs while his partner Vishwa Fernando had to face only 27 balls, from which he made just 6*. It was fitting that Perera exactly matched Lara’s score of 153*. In future assessments, this innings will surely rank with Lara’s as one of the two or three best-ever Test centuries, and perhaps even as the best of them all. Sri Lanka’s eight-wicket win in the second Test was less exciting, but no less gratifying for their supporters.  Thanks to an unbeaten fourth-innings century from new captain Dimuth Karunaratne, Sri Lanka won their third Test in a row when they hosted New Zealand at home in August 2019. But it was down to earth with a bump in the second Test, where a consistent all-round performance by New Zealand took them to an innings victory, and ended Sri Lanka’s brief Test recovery.  Sri Lanka began and ended the period under review in sixth place in the ICC Test rankings. Despite moments of brilliance by individual players, no new or consistent talent came to the fore either in their Tests or in their ‘A’ team’s matches to suggest that any great change to this position is likely in the near future.  Sri Lanka’s A side played four matches over this period, two at home against Ireland Wolves (winning the first by an innings and playing out an indecisive high-scoring draw in the other) and two away against India A, both of which were lost by substantial margins.  The domestic season consisted only of the Premier League Tournament, with the Provincial Tournament, revived in 2017/18, once again dropped. The Premier League competition maintained its previous pattern, with 14 sides competing in Tier A and a further nine in Tier B. After the top eight in Tier A had completed their own Super Eight competition, the league winners – taking the title for the first time since 2006/07 – were Colombo CC, whose four wins over their seven top