brand logo

Not the ideal preparation: Mickey Arthur

21 Dec 2020

By Revatha S. Silva [caption id="attachment_110121" align="alignright" width="738"] The native South African Mickey Arthur, who coached South Africa five years earlier, is happy to lock horns with them in his first international assignment with Sri Lanka[/caption] Playing league cricket on batting wickets was “not the most ideal” preparation he could have preferred before the important South Africa Test series, Sri Lanka Head Coach Mickey Arthur told the media at a briefing held via live video-conferencing yesterday (21). “I would have liked a different kind of preparation; but we had three training camps to prepare ourselves for the series. Anyway, we tried to prepare as sharp as we can,” Arthur told the media from South Africa in this first Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC)-organised virtual media briefing. In their preparation for the South Africa Tests, the 22-member Sri Lanka squad trained for many days on the grassy and bouncy wickets at the upcountry Raddella Grounds. Then most of the players went to Hambantota to take part in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), the inaugural T20 franchise league organised by SLC. It was held for three weeks until 16 December, with a mere two days to go for their departure to South Africa. “The players these days should be good enough to shift their game from one format to another,” Arthur added.   Bio-bubble in South Africa   When The Morning Sports inquired about his feelings about moving from one biosecurity bubble at Hambantota to another in South Africa, Arthur said he was anyway satisfied with the present situation in South Africa. “It is a different bio-bubble here. But I am very satisfied with what we have here. It is different, but very good. I must say we are comfortable with it. We are very well looked after here,” he said adding, “It (the bio-bubble) is very tight. Every third day, we are tested (for Covid -19).”   Locking horns with team from native land   Arthur, the 52-year-old South African, was born in Johannesburg and played 110 first-class matches, mainly for Orange Free State and South Africa A. He took over from Ray Jennings in 2005 as South Africa Head Coach, and later led them to a record nine straight wins in Test series leading up to the 2007 World Cup, before resigning in 2010. Later, he coached Pakistan for three years, before taking up Sri Lanka last February. “Because I am from South Africa, I would hopefully know the condition here well. But 2010 was a long time ago. The pitches here are really good usually. I hope it will be the typical pace-friendly Centurion and the Wanderers (where the two Tests are to be played) tracks this time too,” he said. “I’m looking forward to locking horns with them,” he stressed. “They will come really hard at us. We must try to match them.”   De Kock is a really good option   Arthur admired South Africa’s move to appoint wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock as their new Test skipper in place of Faf du Plesis early this month. “He (de Kock) is a very aggressive player. Under him, South Africa will be a very dangerous team,” Arthur added.   Playing in LPL before Tests   When asked further about the LPL, Arthur said that the league had been organised impressively. “Every country needs a league nowadays. It is something inevitable. LPL was well organised and very good. But it could not have been the most ideal preparation for the Test series. You cannot replicate Test cricket in a T20 league. But it was good to have some sort of competitive cricket before the start of the Tests. We need to prepare ourselves as best as we possibly could,” he opined. “LPL will be held next year as well, despite 2021 being busier with all the postponed series (this year) being rescheduled for next year.”   Very limited preparation   “Centurion will be grassy, yet there is uneven bounce from the third and fourth day’s play. You’d like to bowl first if you have won the toss, but batting second will be also tough there,” Arthur said about the Centurion wicket. Sri Lanka’s only practice game too was cancelled on Sunday (20), reportedly owing to the pandemic situation there. Arthur, therefore, accepted it was very limited preparation for the two important Tests. “We will have our training at the grounds tomorrow (Wednesday), Thursday, and Friday. I would have liked a different way of preparation anyway,” admitted Arthur.   On the England series in January   Asked about the two Tests against England in January, Arthur said every series was “very important” for Sri Lanka. “England is obviously a home series and the conditions will be different (than in South Africa). But if we play well here, irrespective of the different conditions we will be able to carry that confidence and belief into the England series.” The two Tests against England will be held at Galle from 14 and 22 January 2021, respectively. “We have won here in South Africa last time in the Tests. We want to replicate that this time,” Arthur added.   Hasaranga in the ‘thought process’   Asked if leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who was included in the Sri Lanka Test squad at the eleventh hour as a spin-bowling all-rounder – after his impressive performance in the LPL where he became the tournament’s highest wicket-taker – could be included in the first Test, Arthur said he “is in their thought process”. “Hasaranga is a wonderful cricketer. He is in our thought process. We are deciding on the final XI only after we see the wicket. I am not sure about this tour. But Hasaranga will play a lot of cricket in South Africa in the future of his career,” Arthur predicted.

Kapruka

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!


More News..