• Proteas, Lanka set for no-holds-barred scrap 

Sri Lanka Head Coach Sanath Jayasuriya says that he is optimistic about Sri Lanka’s chances in the two-match Test series against South Africa starting on Wednesday (27) in Durban.

However, he acknowledged that his team would nevertheless face a strong challenge to change the island nation’s overall overseas narrative and thereby improve their chances of qualifying for the 2025 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Test Championship (WTC) final.

He added that each time his players strode onto the ground in all formats, they were prepared to put their bodies on the line for their country and stressed that the impending series against the Temba Bavuma-led Proteas would be no exception.

“I am quite confident of our chances in South Africa,” the former Captain of Sri Lanka told reporters ahead of the team’s departure to South Africa at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Headquarters on Thursday (21).

“But also, at the same time, we are under no illusions of the task that awaits us in that country. South Africa are pretty strong at home and that is shown by their record in recent seasons. 

“Hence, we will have a fight on our hands to come out on top. However, we too have performed exceptionally well in recent Test series and I am optimistic that if we get our act together, we should be able to overcome them,” he added.

Jayasuriya said that the two Tests against their hosts would also be an opportunity to improve his country’s dismal series record in overseas conditions, with their last high-profile series success also being against South Africa when they prevailed for a historic 2-0 win in the 2018-’19 season.

In the intervening period, the islanders have played 10 red ball series abroad, with their most notable series triumph recorded against Faf du Plessis’ men five years ago, although they have managed to register victories against lesser opposition such as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

However, Sri Lanka’s recent revival in fortunes in the version, where they blanked New Zealand 2-0 at home, has given the former explosive batter confidence of fronting up to the home side in all facets of the game in a series that will be of equal importance to both countries.

He further singled out fielding as an area in which they would need to show marked improvement if they were to upset the home side and remarked that Fielding Coach Upul Chandana was striving hard to further elevate the standards.

Jayasuriya also supported the move made by SLC to hire former South Africa international Neil McKenzie in order to offer first-hand knowledge to his players of conditions and wickets expected in South Africa.

He also noted that not having any warm-up matches prior to the Tests was not ideal and cited it as a challenge which they would need to face, with around 10 red ball specialists being sent early to South Africa in order to acclimatise.

Jayasuriya added that a few other players such as Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, and Kamindu Mendis would also have no other alternative but to change gears from white to red ball cricket within a matter of days, after having been engaged in the recent T20I and ODI series against New Zealand at home.

Sri Lanka no doubt will be up against it ahead of the latest series coming up against the Proteas, as their previous visit to that country resulted in a 2-0 loss to a team led by Quinton de Kock, who has since quit the format.

To boost their prospects of booking their place in the ICC WTC final at Lord’s next summer, Dhananjaya de Silva’s team will need to win at least one of the two Tests against South Africa and then sweep the home series against world Test champions Australia next January. 

The second and final Test is scheduled to get underway in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) on 5 December.