South Africa up against Lankan spin

GALLE, Wednesday - South Africa go into the first test match against Sri Lanka starting at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday without their best player of spin bowling Hansie Cronje.

The disgraced former South African captain, had his international career abruptly ended in April when he confessed to having contacts with bookmakers, instead of leading the South Africans on their tour to Sri Lanka. Shaun Pollock's men are trying their best to come out of Cronje's shadow and play their natural game, but deep down there they know that life without him is harder than they thought at first, especially if they are out in the subcontinent.

The Sri Lankans are not making it easy for the South Africans either. They have prepared a grassless track which is bound to take spin, maybe from the first day, and batting on it could become a test of will and character especially if you are not quite adept to playing quality spin.

"Our strength is spin and we are playing to our own strength. South Africa are having difficulty facing them. The spinners have a very big role to play in this series," said Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya.

Sri Lanka are most likely to go with three spinners - Muthiah Muralitharan, Upul Chandana and Kumar Dharmasena and to do that, they will have to decide between Kumar Sangakkara and Prasanna Jayawardene as wicket-keeper.

If they opt for Sangakkara, who has been in great form with the bat in the Singer Triangular series, Sri Lanka will be taking a big gamble. Sangakkara has some way to go before he could be classified as a Test wicket-keeper, but it looks that is the only option left if they are to concentrate on spin. The left-hander has to be given a place on his batting alone which means that Jayewardene may have to sit it out if Sri Lanka opt for three spinners.

"Sangakkara is a talented cricketer and he has coped with presssure really well. I hope he will continue his good form in the Test series. It's good for the team that he is playing well at the moment. He looks a good future Sri Lankan cricketer," said Jayasuriya.

"Test cricket is a totally different game. The batsmen will have to show more responsibility and the bowlers have got to stick to one line and length. We will have to play very hard to beat South Africa because they also a very good side," said Jayasuriya.

"We were down in the Test series against Pakistan, but winning five matches in a row has brought back the confidence of all the players. They are enjoying their cricket at the moment and they are very happy and confident for the next game. The main thing is we have got our confidence back," he said.

"We tried hard against Pakistan but the confidence was not there, neither was luck on our side all the time. When it came to the one-day series, the players were more supportive, and they wanted to win and play very hard. They did well in all three departments.

"My big partnership with Marvan in the Kandy Test gave a lot of confidence for the bowlers, which was lacking in the first two Tests," said Jayasuriya. Speaking of Chaminda Vaas' poor form, Jayasuriya said: "He's not had any luck so far. He is a very good bowler . He is going through a bad time. Any time he is bound to get wickets."

South African captain Shaun Pollock who will be leading his country in a Test match for the first time was confident that his team would meet the challenge posed by Sri Lanka.

"We are definitely ready to take on Sri Lanka. No one expected us to beat India who played with three spinners. We almost won by an innings. We got to believe that we can play the spinners well. The main threat is Muralitharan, there is no doubt about that. I think the others are not so prodigious turners of the ball. I think we are more than capable of playing them well," said Pollock.

"We have watched some tapes of those who bowled in the past. They use people like (Russel) Arnold, Jayasuriya, Chandana and Dharmasena. They have got five or six guys who can bowl spin and I am sure we have played them at different times. We've practiced hard enough and I am sure the guys can handle them," he said.

"No doubt it's a big challenge for us. We were pretty confident when we came. We should be able to put in a good performance and go ahead and win the Test match. We can compete with the conditions here," he said.

A decision on whether to play left-arm spinner Paul Adams maybe left till tomorrow morning, according to South African team physio Craig Smith. Adams suffered a groin injury during the Singer Triangular final last Friday, and as a cover up 21-year-old uncapped left-arm spinner Robin Peterson was flown in. Peterson may have to wait till the morning of the Test to know whether he is playing.

Smith said that batsman Darryl Cullinan had also made very good progress on his hamstring injury, but a final decision on his fitness will be made in the morning.

South African will also have to decide whether to give Neil McKenzie a Test cap at the expense of a fast bowler. McKenzie made a superb 181 in South Africa's two-day warm up game against a Board XI on Friday. With Klusener and Kallis to support Pollock with the new ball, South Africa may think of dropping both Monantau Hayward and Makhaya Ntini as the pitch is not going to suit pace. South Africa is one of the countries Sri Lanka have not beaten in a Test. They have their best chance here to put right that record. In five Tests between the two countries South Africa have won three and drawn two.

SRI LANKA (from): Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Marvan Atapattu, Russel Arnold, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Arjuna Ranatunga, Prasanna Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Muthiah Muralitharan, Upul Chandana, Kumar Dharmasena, Dinuk Hettiaratchi.

SOUTH AFRICA (from): Shaun Pollock (captain), Gary Kirsten, Boeta Dippenaar, Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Darryl Cullinan, Neil McKenzie, Lance Klusener, Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje, Robin Peterson, Paul Adams, Makhaya Ntini, Monantau Hayward.

UMPIRES: Darryl Harper (Australia) and Peter Manuel (Sri Lanka), TV umpire: Lalith Jayasundera (Sri Lanka), Match Referee: Brian Hastings (New Zealand).