da luck： Stephen Fleming hits out on his way to an unbeaten 112 ©AFP Local predictions that New Zealand might wilt in harsh Sri Lankanconditions proved overly optimistic on an attritional opening dayof this two-Test series at the P Saravanamuttu Oval
Wisden Bulletin by Charlie Austin25-Apr-2003Stephen Fleming hits out on his way to an unbeaten 112
©AFPLocal predictions that New Zealand might wilt in harsh Sri Lankanconditions proved overly optimistic on an attritional opening dayof this two-Test series at the P Saravanamuttu Oval. The heatwas stifling, baking the smattering of spectators housed in themetal-roofed pavilion, but the pitch was pancake flat and SriLanka’s quartet of spinners made little headway against thevisitor’s stubborn pair of left-handers, Mark Richardson andStephen Fleming.Brought together by the early loss of Matt Horne, they profitedfrom some butter-finger catching and crawled along in the firsttwo sessions – scoring 66 in the morning and 73 in the afternoon- before turning the screws slightly in the evening.A breakthrough with the new ball by Chaminda Vaas – who hadotherwise had a relatively innocuous day, failing to swing thenew ball or reverse the old – immediately after the last drinksbreak pulled the home side back into the game, but by then,Fleming and Richardson had extended the partnership to 172 – ateam record for the second wicket against Sri Lanka, surpassingthe 141 by Bryan Young and Horne in 1996/97.Fleming, who prior to the match had called for his senior playersto shoulder responsibility in the absence of key middle-orderplayers, led from the front. During the first two sessions, he wasrarely fluent, content just to keep Sri Lanka’s spinners -especially the probing Muttiah Muralitharan – at bay. But duringthe final session, he started to assert himself, eventuallybringing up his fifth Test century with a cover-drive for four. Hefinished the day on 112 from 248 balls.”The aim is to get a big score tomorrow and definitely have a go at the SriLanka batsmen sometime in the afternoon,” Fleming explained. “Muralitharan was difficult to play as usual, but I have told my batsmen to watch him carefully. I am happy with my century, but a lot more needs to be done on the second day.”Richardson pulled his hamstring in the first session and battedthroughout the afternoon with a runner – meaning that poorHorne faced an evening of rehydration despite scoring just four -anchored the innings, carrying through his good form from thewarm-up matches when he had scored 106 and 93. He alsolooked set to reach three figures, although he had virtuallyground to a halt against the spinners.Patient and unflustered throughout – even after being rattled onthe helmet by a skidding Vaas bouncer in the afternoon – heeventually chopped one on to his stumps, having occupied thecrease 325 painstaking minutes for his 84 (192 for two).It could have been different for Sri Lanka, who were left to rueanother fumbling performance in the field. Richardson the chiefbeneficiary, was dropped first by Mahela Jayawardene at firstslip when he had made 34 – a regulation chance – and then on63 by Romesh Kaluwitharana, playing his first Test for two years.Fleming, too, had moments of alarm, edging between slip and thewicketkeeper in the morning and pulling within inches of a divingKumar Sangakkara at mid-wicket later in the day.In all, it proved to be a frustrating day for the new captain,Hashan Tillakaratne, who stamped his authority early on byensuring his players wore their traditional caps during the firstsession. Unfortunately, the dropped catches exposed the sameproblems faced by his predecessor: the lack of penetrativesupport for Muralitharan.The offspinner caused problems throughout the day but after 27overs of effort, he left the field wicketless. The other spinnerswere economical but far less threatening.Horne’s wicket was the only one to fall in the first two sessions,a first Test victim for Prabath Nissanka, the 22-year-old fastbowler with rickety knees and tree-trunk thighs, who bowled animpressive spell first up. Horne appeared to have weathered thenew ball, digging in for 44 minutes, before being surprised bysome sharp bounce from Nissanka. He fended off a sharp chanceto short leg, where Dharmasena clung on to a fine one-handeddiving catch (20 for 1).And that was pretty much all Sri Lanka had to celebrate for along while thereafter. Advantage New Zealand, after a day whenaggression was firmly pushed into the background.