Colombo heat a factor as teams brace for day-time fixtures

Cliff Notes – Colombo heat a factor as teams brace for day-time fixtures

• The oppressive mid-30s Celsius heat in Colombo poses a significant challenge for players during the tri-nation series, with all matches scheduled for daytime.
• Captains Harmanpreet Kaur and Laura Wolvaardt emphasised the importance of hydration and acclimatisation ahead of the ODI World Cup, viewing the series as crucial preparation.

Colombo heat a factor as teams brace for day-time fixtures

The chocolate glaze on Laura Wolvaardt’s cake glistened in the searing Colombo heat, desperately clinging to the layer of sponge beneath. It was a thoughtful end to the pre-series media briefing, as Wolvaardt was surprised with a cake to celebrate her 26th birthday alongside fellow captains Chamari Athapaththu and Harmanpreet Kaur.

They would have been forgiven, however, if they had wondered whether the cake cutting -and the trophy unveiling that preceded it – might have been better served being held in the air-conditioned media centre instead of on the outfield at the R Premadasa Stadium.

The oppressive heat – temperatures the mid-30 celsius – is something the players will need to come cope with during the tri-nation series. All seven games are daytime matches in Colombo.

“It’s definitely a lot hotter than what we’re used to back home,” Woolvardt said when asked about the conditions. “In fact I think we’re going into a winter now [in South Africa], so it’s going to be a bit of a shock to the system.”

Harmanpreet said India had placed a lot of importance on managing the conditions. “As we all know heat is going to play a big role,” she said. “For the last three-four months we have been playing only night games, after a long time we’re going to play a day game. So I think keeping ourselves fresh and hydrated is going to be key.”

Just months out from the ODI World Cup to be held in India later this year, all three captains acknowledge the experience to be gained during the tri-series is invaluable.

For India and South Africa, third and fourth respectively in the ICC Women’s ODI rankings, and expecting to make deep runs into the World Cup, it’s an opportunity to get into a tournament mindset. Tri-series are quite rare in the modern cricket calendar. “I think it’s a great initiative,” Harmanpreet said. “Before the World Cup we’re getting a similar kind of feeling where we’re playing against different teams, and a situation where you need to keep looking at your run rate. These things play a very big role.”

Wolvaardt said it was “perfect in a World Cup year”. “Just being able to play in a knockout format, and then a final before the World Cup is a great experience. Conditions-wise, being able to prep and play against different teams is also very good.”

All those points are true for Sri Lanka as well but they have more work to do. The last couple of years have been the most successful in their history but they are still not consistently competitive against the top sides – particularly in the 50-over format.

One of their primary concerns is an over reliance on the top three of Athapaththu, Vishmi Gunaratne and Harshitha Samarawickrama. The hope in this series is that the rest of the batting begins to provide much-needed depth.

“In a lot of games, the top three – Vishmi, Harshitha and myself – have played and scored runs, but to be honest the middle order hasn’t contributed enough,” Athapaththu said. “That’s one of the reasons why we’ve brought in Hasini [Perera] and Hansima Karunaratne. We also have the Under-19 captain Manudi Nanayakkara. The goal is to create a deep batting order, because in the 50-over format it’s our batting that has been a problem.”

With four uncapped players in the Sri Lankan squad, Athapaththu hoped playing against strong opposition will give the younger players invaluable experience. “We’re looking to get a good combination of youth and experience – we’ll be trying a few young players out ahead of the World Cup.

“I think it’s a big opportunity for them, especially to play against two top international teams prior to the World Cup. I’m confident that they will give their best, but I have no desire to put pressure on them – that’s what the senior players are there for, to absorb the pressure. For the youngsters it’s important that they play as freely as possible.”