And no, there is no intended pun in the title.

There is something about both, West Indies and Sri Lanka, that you want them to do well. I don't know whether its because they don't win as often or whether they're just likeable teams.

But here are some reasons why they may just surprise a few at the ICC World Twenty20.

1. In Gayle and Jayasuriya they've got the 2 most destructive batsmen in world cricket. If they get going, not many teams will get past them.
   
   
2. One team is keen to do well because it was sent to England earlier than it wanted to be there, so there is something to prove.
   
   The other is coming back to international cricket after a traumatized tour to Pakistan and under a new captain. Fresh thinking, fresh start, winning start?
   
   
3. In Edwards and Malinga, both the teams have got the best slingers in the business.
   
   
4. They're pooled together in the 1st round with the 3rd team being Australia; so the chances are that 1 of them will not qualify.
   
   But if both do after toppling Australia, it augurs well for their confidence in the Super 8s, which could take them all the way.
   
   
5. Since Gayle's outburst in the Guardian, the Windies contingent has been quiet. Same goes for Sri Lanka, with only King Sanga speaking of how the expectations are low from his team.
   
   With less tongues wagging, they will surely be letting their bats and balls do the talking.

I believe its high time that the West Indies set their 20-20 world cup record straight by winning atleast one game; and for Sri Lanka to rise above the expectations and prove their record in England wrong.

Mehar Mohammad Khalil.

Heard the name?

He was the driver of the bus, which was carrying the Sri Lankan players that got attacked.

Mehar has been hailed as the saviour of the Lankan players' lives by all the players.

My Sri Lankan friend, Damith of Fly Slip, has initiated a fund, the aim of which is to raise money though contributions from fans and present the collections to Mehar.

The target is US $1,000. $155 have already been raised.

Damith is aiming to present the $1000 gift to Mehar when he arrives in Sri Lanka as a guest of the Sri Lankan Government.

None other than King Sanga will present the gift to Mehar.

So hop over to Fly Slip and make your contribution and hail a HERO.

While the fall out from the ODI series against Sri Lanka was still being felt in Pakistan, Jayawardene and company have already started another ODI series against Dhoni's men.

The 1st ODI seemed like a walk in the park for Dhoni & Co. They didn't even break a sweat while chasing down that total.

After the 80 odd year old Jayasuriya smashed a ton that became the ton scored by the oldest ODI player ever, I thought the match would have gone away from India.

But Jayawardene has learnt the art to throw things away lately. Yeah so he didn't do it in Pakistan, but largely against Bangladesh and now India, a good start was thrown away.

246? You need a 100 more to contain this Indian batting line up.

Especially when your M&Ms take only 1 wicket between themselves.

And will Murali finally get that record. I've been hearing about it since the Lankans came to Paksitan. Well we know he's about to get past Wasim Akram and don't need to be reminded of that everytime he's about to play a match.

And whatsup wtih Mendis? As soon as his bowling average tipped the 10 mark he lost the art of picking wickets.

He couldn't do it in Pakistan. He couldn't do it in the 1st ODI against India.

With Sehwag back tomorrow, he might not do it in this series at all.

Not that bad, but something tells me he's trying a bit too much. Much like his captain. Much like Lanka actually.

The Lankans needs to stop playing already. They've been playing for as long as I can remember without a break. And they don't seem like getting one soon either.

They don't even complain. Not even with the oldest ODI player on their side.

Another 4 ODIs against India. A 20-20. Tests against Pakistan. IPL. World 20-20. Pakistan again. Who knows what after that.

What do they eat?

Regular readers of Well Pitched are well aware of my fascination of Ajantha Mendis.

The man is a freak and every now and then I come out with a small reminder of his abilities.

The last time I spoke of him was during his 18th ODI when I expected him to pick up his 50th ODI wicket and become the fastest man to that mark.

That never happened and for a change Mendis went wicket less.

But it happened this morning.

19th ODI, 3 wickets.

Total tally - 51.

51 wickets in 19 matches.

Fastest by a fair margin.

His ODI bowling average is still below the 10 mark!

Sure he's played the minnows recently but don't forget how he tamed India.

The tougher opposition will come soon and Mendis seems all set to take them on.

For Well Pitched's previous coverage on Mendis can be found on the following links.

Part 1.

Part 2.

Since the time I last spoke about him, Mendis has played another 4 ODIs and has picked up 15 more wickets.

He is one of those players whom I have followed since his debut.

I first wondered who he was and who knew what about him. We even got a perfect answer to that.

I then made an outrageous comment about him becoming the highest wicket taker in all international cricket by the time he retires.

I still stand by that.

I kept raving about him on Well Pitched. And I continue to.

As I write this, Mendis is playing his 18th ODI and before this match, his figures stood at:

126.3 - 13 - 463 - 48

That is 2.8 wickets per ODI.

That is a wicket every 3rd over.

That is a bowling average below 10!

Today, if he picks up atleast 2 wickets, Mendis will become the fastest bowler to 50 wickets in ODIs in terms of matches.

The record is 23, held by Ajit Agarkar.

To put it in perspective, Shane Warne got his 50 in his 25th, Saqlain in his 28th.

Mendis to 50 today!

And that too at an average of below 10.

I don't think I have ever seen a bowling average of 9.6 in any form of cricket.

Remember when I said this?

And when AP Webster said this?

Remember when I raved about him here?

He just played in the T20 Quadrangular in Canada and in his first three T20 Internationals he picked up figures of:

4-0-15-4
4-1-17-4
4-0-23-3

Thats 11 wickets in 3 T20 matches at an average of 5.00 and a strike rate of 6.5!

In 13 ODIs he has 33 wickets at an average of 10.81 and a strike rate of 18.0!

In 3 Tests he has 26 wickets at an average of 18.38 and a strike rate of 37.6.

All those 26 test wickets are of the best players of spin in the world.

Where have you seen better?

When has anyone excited you more?

For all those who thought:

1. Australia were the weak side going into the 1st test against India

2. Ricky Ponting cannot score in India to save his life

3. The ICL had killed Bangladesh cricket for good

4. The Sri Lankans would not bend over to please the BCCI

5. Harbhajan would maul the Aussies

Think Again!

I feel sorry for the New Zealanders. But Bangladesh has suddenly excited me!

I also feel sorry for the Indians - Ponting is back in form. Maybe he'll get to Lara's record before Sachin does!

"Give me the same players who were part of the team in the 90s ... and see the result. We don't have the same talent that we had in the 80s and 90s and we have to accept that as a reality."

For once I believe Dr. Nasim Ashraf has made sense.

Its sad but its true.

All countries go through their own talent cycles.

West Indies have suffered the most in this regard dominating cricket through the 70s and 80s only to find themselves low down the rating for the last 15 years or so.

India have experienced the opposite trend with the emergence of new talent that is far ahead of the batsmen and the bowlers of the 90s.

Australia seemed to have overcome this talent-cycle by establishing a strong system that creates and provides a never ending supply of talented cricketers.

Though even they faced a hurdle during the mid 80s with the exodus of a number of big names and it was left to Allan Border to build a young team.

Since then though, Australia has been able to make sure that succession is easy and successful.

Sri Lanka have relied on a number of old hands of the 90s who have continued to play during this decade. Jayasuriya, Murali, and Vaas will soon move on and when Jayawardene and Sanga do the same in 3-4 years they could face what the Windies have and what Pakistan are.

New Zealand have very recently experienced the downward trend of the talent cycle with the departure of players like Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan, and Shane Bond.

England and South Africa are 2 countries that seem to intrigue me. I don't think either has faced a downward or an upward trend in the talent cycle.

They have both produced the same boring and unexciting cricketers for years and years with the exceptions of the Steyns (Donald) and the Morkels (Klusener, McMillan) and the Flintoffs and the Pietersens.

Despite all this, I think Pakistan has still done alright.

They are still the unpredictable team they were in the 90s when they had all those supremely talented players.

They were never a consistent team back then, nor are they one now.

So despite not having the Saeed Anwars, Amir Sohails, Inzamams, Miandads, Wasim Akrams, Waqar Younises, Rashid Latifs, Moin Khans, Saqlains, Mushtaqs, Razzaks, Ijaz Ahmeds, and others, not much has changed has it?

Hosts Pakistan and the 3 minnows - Bangladesh, UAE, and Hong Kong kick off their Asia Cup campaigns from tomorrow, while India and Sri Lanka play their first games on the following day.

Here we take a look at the form these teams are bringing into the tournament.

Bangladesh

Wins: Since beating India and South Africa in last year's ODI World Cup, Bangladesh have only beaten Ireland 3-0 in an ODI series they played at home.

Losses: They have lost 21 ODIs in this 14 month period losing series' to all the big teams - India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, South Africa, and Pakistan.

Asia Cup '04: Bangladesh were pitted with Pakistan and Hong Kong in Round 1 and managed to qualify for Round 2, where they lost all their matches to the Asian Big 3.

Chances '08: There is no doubt that Bangladesh have come a long way since the 2004 Asia Cup, however they still have not been able to beat top international sides consistently. Their Round 2 spot is more or less confirmed unless the UAE can spring a surprise on them, highly unlikely though. They have upset major teams every now and then but that will not be enough for them to make the final, for which they will have to beat atleast 2 of the Big 3 in Round 2.

Speak: "We are confident for the second round as we have been playing good cricket against India and Pakistan in the recent past” - skipper Ashraful confident of beating the UAE.

“If we can regularly score 240, which we rarely do, we can be competitive and hopefully win a few games” - Coach Jamie Siddons spills the secrets on Bangladesh's plans.


Hong Kong

Wins / Losses / Asia Cup '04 / Chances '08: The last time Hong Kong played ODI cricket was 4 years ago in the Asia Cup where they lost both their matches to Pakistan and Bangladesh. In this tournament they are up against India and Pakistan in Round 1 and an upset looks highly unlikely.

Speak: “At the end of the day, we are not here on holidays. Our aim is to be competitive in this tournament and try to create an upset or two" - HK's Kashmiri captain Tabarak Dar makes it clear that they are here to play.

“We are very positive and optimistic. Cricket is a funny game and you can’t predict any result.” - Coach Aftab Habib seaks of optimisim and humour.


India

Wins: Since their embarassing ouster from last year' ODI World Cup, they have had a mixed bag of results. They won the CB series earlier this year beating Australia in the final despite not looking like the best team of the tournament in the league stages. They beat Pakistan 3-2 at home late last year and upset South Africa 2-1 in Ireland.

Losses: They have lost just as many. They were beaten 4-3 by England in England and 4-2 by Australia at home. Despite being the favorites to win the tri-series in Bangladesh earlier this month, they lost to Pakistan in the final.

Asia Cup '04: They made it to the final at the expense of Pakistan on the basis of bonus points but lost to Sri Lanka.

Chances '08: They have won the Asia Cup more than any other side, though they haven't done it for 13 years now. They come into this tournament as favorites with a strong 15-man squad, each one of whom is in top form. The loss in the final of the Kitply Cup was just a hiccup and India are strong contenders for the Asia Cup title. Expect to see them in the final.

Speak: "We will win more matches than lose if we play to our potential and our capability" - Dhoni mentions the obvious.

“We have a group of players, specifically the batsmen, who are extremely talented... we are certainly backing them to be able to do some special stuff for the team” - Coach Gary Kirsten puts his money on India's young ones.


Pakistan

Wins: After facing an embarassing outer from last year's ODI World Cup, Pakistan has undergone an overhaul, similar to India, though with much less success. They beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in an offshore series in Abu Dhabi and this year they have gone on to win 12 of their 13 ODIs. However 11 of those wins have been against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Losses: They lost both their ODI series last year to South Africa and India by a 3-2 margin, and recently faced their heaviest defeat to India during the Kitply Cup.

Asia Cup '04: They only lost 1 match in the last Asia Cup to Sri Lanka, however failed to make the final on the basis of bonus points.

Chances '08: They haven't lost an ODI series this year and are coming into the tournament on the back of a morale boosting win over India in the final of the Kitply Cup earlier this month. They haven't lost a home ODI in recent times and seem to be strong contenders to make the final as long as they don't succumb to home pressure.

Speak: “Yes, the people are expecting us to win. That will pose some extra pressure but we are professionals and know how to handle it.” - Skipper Malik talks about managing home crowd expectations.

"The two main rivals for us are India and Sri Lanka. We’ve beaten India recently and we can beat them again here” Coach Lawson is confident of a Pakistan victory.


Sri Lanka

Wins: They have had an indifferent 14 months since reaching the final of the ODI World Cup last year. Since then they have won only 1 ODI series, beating Bangladesh at home 3-0.

Losses: They have lost ODI series to Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, England at home, and the West Indies in the Caribbean. They aslo failed to make to the CB Series final earlier this year.

Asia Cup '04: They won the title after beating India in the final under Marvan Atapattu.

Chances '08: They come into the tournament as the defending champions, however the have had a very lacklustre run over the last year or so. Return of some key players will boost them but they will find it tough against India and Pakistan.

Speak: “We are working really hard and we have to start putting things right, there’s no doubt about it” - skipper Jayawardene knows that its gone wrong for Sri Lanka over the last year.


United Arab Emirates

Wins / Losses / Asia Cup '04 / Chances '08: The last time UAE played ODI cricket against major opposition was 4 years ago in the Asia Cup where they lost both their matches to India and Sri Lanka. In this tournament they are up against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Round 1 and it seems unlikely that they will be playing Round 2.

Speak: “We have made a good improvement and it will be good outing against Bangladesh” - skipper Saqib Ali talks about an improving team.

"Batting is the main strength of our team" - coach Vasbert Drakes talks about strengths.


Coming Soon on Well Pitched:

Asia Cup 2008: Getting to Know the UAE
Asia Cup 2008: Pakistan's Selections

The Venue

The 9th edition of the Asia Cup gets underway in Pakistan from Tuesday.

This is the 1st time that the Asia Cup is being held in Pakistan with the previous editions held in Sharjah (1984, 1995), India (1991), Sri Lanka (1986, 1997, 2004), and Bangladesh (1988, 2000).

The Teams

Besides the 4 Asian test playing nations, the top two Asian associate nations, Honk Kong and the UAE, are also part of the tournament as they were in 2004.

The 6 teams have been divided into 2 Groups:

Group A: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE
Group B: Pakistan, India, Honk Kong

The Format

Round 1 will take all of 3 days to complete with each team playing against the other in its Group.

Group A matches will be held in Lahore, while Group B will be based in Karachi.

The top 2 teams from each group will move forward to Round 2 where they play against each other in a Round-Robin format over a week. All matches will be held in Karachi.

The top 2 at the end of the Round-Robin stage will contest the final, which will also be played in Karachi.

The Champions

Sri Lanka are the defending champions having won the Asia Cup in 2004 at home. They have won the title on 2 pevious occassions as well - 1986 and 1997.

India have won the most Asia Cup titles with 4 victories in 1984, 1988, 1991, and 1995.

Pakistan have won it only once in 2000.

The Performers

Batsmen

Among the top 10 run scorers in the Asia Cup, only Sanath Jayasuriya and Mohmmad Yousuf will be playing this edition.

Jayasuriya tops the batting charts with 842 runs in 20 Asia Cup matches at an average of 46.77.

Yousuf is 10th on the same list with 392 runs in 9 matches at an average of 78.40.

Jayasuriya also tops the centuries list with 4 Asia Cup 100s, while Shoaib Malik is the only other player with more than 1 Asia Cup 100 - both his 100s came in the previous edition, a time when Malik used to bat at number 3 (Hint).

Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan are the only other centurions playing in this edition of the Asia Cup.

Bowlers

Sanath Jayasuriya is also the highest wicket taker in past Asia Cup with 20 wickets in 20 matches at an average of 30.25.

His team mates, Vaas and Muralitharan, are also among the top 10 with 18 and 16 wickes respectively.

Irfan Pathan is the only other player from those taking part in this edition to feature in the top 10 with all his 14 wickets coming in the previous tournament.

All matches will be day-night and will start at 10:00am GMT (4:00pm PST, 3:30pm IST, and 2:00pm UAE time).

Coming Soon on Well Pitched:

Asia Cup 2008: The Form Book
Asia Cup 2008: Getting to Know the UAE

A few days ago, I did a post titled "Do You Know Ajanta Mendis?"

One of my Anonymous Readers decided to answer that question and left a comment describing the history of Ajanta Mendis in Sri Lankan cricket. This is what he / she wrote:

"Gunner Balapuwaduge Ajantha Winslow Mendis (S/158405) of Sri Lanka Artillery created history in the Sri Lanka Army by being the first-ever to enter the National Cricket Team of the country, now played in the West Indies.

Sri Lanka Army Cricket Committee spotted his talents when he played a cricket match against the Army under 23 Division 11 during 2003/2004 tournaments. The Army requested him to join the Regular Force of Sri Lanka Army as there was a dearth of cricketers joining the Army, particularly from Colombo schools. He accepted this offer since his father who was the only bread-winner for the family had already departed them following a heart attack, the week before.

After his basic recruit training he was straight away drafted into the Army Cricket Pool by the Chairman, SL Army cricket. From there onwards he was handled with greater care and guided properly through turbulence. Being a hard working youngster and a quick learner, Mendis was able to cement his place in the Army mainly due to his talents in all three spheres. He was coached initially by Mr Saman Hewawithrana and by Mr Neil Rajapaksha afterwards; both coaches did a good job in guiding him. He has shown a steady progress in all the tournaments organized hitherto by SL Cricket when representing the Army.

Born in March 1985 Mendis hails from a hamlet in Moratuwa. He is the third child in a family of five with an elder brother and a sister. He has had his basic education at St Anthony’s College at Kadalana in his village where there were no facilities at all for sports. He subsequently entered Moratuwa Maha Vidyalaya in the year of 2000. During a cricket coaching class, Mendis’ talents were initially identified by the school coach named Mr Lucky Rogers back in the year 1998 when he was just 13 years of age. In the year 2000 he represented the school under 15 cricket team and he was selected to the first eleven team. He also deputized for the school team captain. This slow medium bowler with a variation of leg spin was adjudged the Best Bowler at the big-matches twice in 2001 and 2002."

Anonymous, you have aptly answered the question and told us that you do in fact know who Ajanta Mendis is. Thank you for sharing this with us. Now we all know a tab bit more about the latest spinning sensation.

David Barry, I bet even you did not know all this.

Not many people seem to be interested in the on going Sri Lanka - West Indies series despite it producing some good competitive cricket. The Windies seem to be a rejuvenated side under Chris Gayle, while the Lankans are hitting a decline of sorts.

I didn't watch any of the tests but I did manage to catch the 2nd half of the Windies' innings in yesterday's ODI. Quite a chase it was. It was also one of the more exciting ODI matches I've seen in recent times.

Chanderpaul's 4 and 6 of the last 2 balls of the innings to secure a dramatic 1 wicket win for the Windies was surely the highlight of the match.

But there was something else that I found quite amazing.

That was Sri Lanka's new spinner, Ajanta Mendis.

Did you see that boy?

His Cricinfo profile says "Right arm slow medium", but he is anything but that. Watching him bowl was quite a sight. The boy released off spinners, doosras, leg breaks, googlies, flippers, straighter ones and everything and anything that an off spinner and leg spinner bowl.

I haven't seen anyone bowl the way Mendis did last night. Shahid Afridi bowls the occasional fast offspinner in his spells of leg breaks and googlies, and even Sachin Tendulkar bowls a mixture of everything, but this Mendis boy was different. In fact I felt he was something special.

His debut performance last night was figures of 3-39 off 10. His 3 wickets came of 3 different deliveries - a straighter one with an off spinner's action, a flipper with a leg spinner's action, and a looping off spinner.

His first class record is quite astonishing - 19 matches, 111 wickets at an average of 14.5. His List A record even more so - 20 matches, 40 wickets at an average of 11.5.

Is he the next big thing of Sri Lankan Cricket?

Is he Murali's long term replacement?

Too early to call but the indications from his domestic record and from what I saw last night, there's a high chance that he is.

Sri Lanka will be happy to be getting back some of their stars for the 2nd test match versus Australia. Sangakkara is slated to make a comeback if he is fit and he will definitely bolster the visiting side's batting which struggled in the first test match against Australia.

On the bowling side Sri Lanka is hoping to have the fiery Malinga back in the line up. The rumors are that Vaas will be dropped if Malinga makes it back to the line up. I would think they should drop Fernando and keep Vaas. Vaas is an extremely experienced campaigner and especially on an Australia tour that counts for a lot.

Ponting and the Aussies will be looking to win their 14th win in a row. This should be a closer match, but until somebody can prove otherwise, the Aussies are just in a class of their own. And 20/20 does not count as it is not main stream (at least not yet).