‘Our seamers will also get assistance’

HAMILTON, New Zealand: Upon seeing the Hamilton track’s shock of green on Wednesday, interim head coach Jerome Jayaratne said the surface might have been “understandably doctored”.

On the eve of the Test, on which the surface appeared a lighter shade of green, Angelo Mathews suggested a spicy surface may work to his team’s advantage.

His thinking is this: Sri Lanka are already a game down in the series, and a flat surface that produces a draw will not help them level it. Not only will Sri Lanka’s seamers have an opportunity to take 20 wickets in Hamilton, but a pitch as spicy as this one is expected to be may have the added benefit of narrowing the quality gap between the two seam attacks. Low-scoring games are often prone to upsets.

“When you play on extreme wickets, both teams have equal opportunities,” Mathews said. “It’s just that you have to get a good start whether you bat or bowl. We’ll definitely play to win because it doesn’t matter if we lose the series 2-0 by trying to win this game.” Sri Lanka are now 0-3 in their Tests in New Zealand over the past year, but have in other nations achieved victory in seam-friendly conditions. Tests in Dubai and Headingley last year were won in part thanks to the seam attack’s penetration in helpful conditions.