An absence of edginess

Think Sri Lanka, and you think ‘Cricket as Party’. Maybe the party-goers are too cool to feel excited about a Test match one day before the actual event. Maybe one has experienced the other extreme too often, the hysterical anticipation when India play. The fact is, it doesn’t seem there is a Test match starting tomorrow in Galle.
Perhaps Sri Lankans are too laid back, but that intangible edginess that exists a day before a Test is not there. This state of affairs makes one feel edgy, as if something is not right. There is no banter between journalists from the two countries. Actually there is nobody from the Pakistan media here yet. There are no nosy law enforcers frisking bags at various points on the way to the ground. There is no haughty curator to stop one from taking a look at the pitch, or to watch from up close Kaushal Silva and Tillakaratne Dilshan practise wicketkeeping.
There is no media frenzy either. Kumar Sangakkara comes to a press conference, sits, chats, laughs as if we are his friends. Apart from the sponsors’ board in the background, there is Nothing Official About It. Younis Khan (does he ever get grim?) is his giggly self. Says he will miss Murali’s company, because when is he under pressure, he starts talking to you and you have a good laugh with him. “At least I will miss his company.” These press conferences are reminiscent of a picture from just before the Old Trafford Test of 1987: Imran Khan is sitting on a window pane, addressing journalists barely a few feet away, no mics, media managers or sponsor boards. Where is the edginess that a Test brings?
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In the night however while walking on the rampart that separates the sea from the town, and while sitting by the water, wind in the hair and sea in the ear, one gets part of the answer. Come to Galle, you’ll understand.

Pakistan rediscover the challenge of Test cricket

Pakistan's opportunities to win both matches in this series illustrate the fascination of Test cricket but were false hopes. Test cricket is an examination of skill way beyond the Twenty20 variety. A win in this series would have been even more remarkable than the events in England, and Pakistan fans should reserve their judgment.
The fundamental problem for Pakistan's players is their lack of international cricket, and in particular Test cricket, over the last 18 months. There is no substitute for match practice and Pakistan's cricketers have suffered. Add to this an inadequate domestic structure and you have the recipe for the kind of failures that Younis Khan's team has just experienced.
Clearly, there are areas for improvement, and they are the same ones that have been discussed for a decade. An unsure and unsettled opening partnership. A middle order that fires sporadically but rarely when it matters. And a collective psychology and spirit that can turn victory into defeat rather than the other way round.
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