Numerous have been the never-ending debates over the state of Sri Lanka’s domestic club cricket set-up and the international stage but one man, Angelo Perera, may have the final say in the whole saga that has never been addressed other than offering a platform for excuses and a hiding place for coaches and captains to save face each time the team loses.
No Sri Lankan cricketer has been able to do what Angelo Perera had done, virtually butchering his way into the team after many a raw deal and several fleeting moments over the past five years.
If he delivers in the two Test series in South Africa or four Test innings to be fair, the pundits and the experts who question Sri Lanka’s domestic club standard each time the team loses could be out of business.
If he proves a disaster, the pundits will be at it again that Sri Lanka will never get anywhere unless the domestic structure is changed and quality, not quantity, is the solution for the future.
Angelo Perera’s twin double hundreds in a four-day local match was not recorded in front of the media or the public for any assessment and none from both sects will know the quality of bowling that he faced on his way to smashing 201 and 238, feats that can only be associated with a batsman in the mould of a Brian Lara.
Other arguments point to home ‘batting pitches’ rescuing Sri Lanka’s weary club cricketers who will never find solace on South Africa’s fast paced strips that offer speed and bounce to bowlers.
While all eyes will be focused on Angelo Perera, the batsman himself, who’ll celebrate his 29th birthday during the Test series will be facing a breed of four predatory bowlers, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier and Vernon Philander all waiting for their next hunting trip in Africa.
The foursome led South Africa to a 3-0 routing of Pakistan in a Test series last month as they accounted for 59 of the 60 wickets to fall.
Olivier was the coolest and deadliest scalping 24 batsmen.