Blues' middle order blues

Blues - three teams don blue jerseys in the 2011 world cup; Sri Lanka, England and India. They have one more thing in common, their middle order blues.  True, that most games have been against minnows and the middle order didnt need to fire, or only came in at the slog overs. Also true that all three teams have qualified to the next round - bearing a freak show by Bangladesh against a formidable South African line up - and therefore why even worry about it. But it must be noted that of the 1600 runs scored by England in this world cup only 303 were scored by number five, six and seven batsman, at 20.2 runs a wicket. For India, it is 282 out of 1480 runs at an average of 35.2. The worse showing is by one of the tournament favorites playing in their own back yard - Sri Lankan middle order only scored 212 runs off of their 1336 runs and that was at a paltry average of  17.5.

Perhaps India has not turned blue yet, they are may be somewhere between purple and blue. The numbers of 35.2 is actually pretty good, except there was that dismal performance against South Africa. If they listen to Dhonis' words of wisdom, play for your country, not for the crowd, Indian middle order might hit that purple patch. No such advice for Sri Lanka and after six games with several opportunities, there is no evidence of the middle order kicking it up a notch.

Today's game against New Zealand was a perfect opportunity for the middle order to showcase their strength and get the much needed confidence or the momentum - the most liberally used concept by cricketers these days - going on to the next round. Today at 210 for 4 in the 41st over, Thilan Samaraweera joining Angelo Mathews, every Sri Lankan had their heart in their mouth. Moments before that you sensed the fragility of the middle order from the muted celebrations of Kumar Sangakkara when he reached his hundred. This was his first hundred since 2008, yet he celebrated as if it was just another single. He knew, the job was far from done, and what to come was not Pollard or Razzak - esque hitting. All said and done, Sri Lanka coasted to a comfortable victory, but if it was not for the ever maturing Angelo Mathews' rearguard batting coupled with wide eyed sixes from Malinga and Murali, New Zealand would have fancied their chances. A platform built by the usual Sanga/Mahela combo was almost wasted.


Perhaps Sri Lanka should rethink their batting order. The wise man of Sri Lankan cricket, Arjuna Ranatunga suggested a while back, Mahela should bat down the order. Today would have been ideal for Samaraweera to come in at number four and build an inning around a bit scratchy yet flamboyant Sangakkara. Then comes Mahela, who can kick in to top gear from the word go, as he often does in twenty twenty cricket. He could have been followed by Mathews and Silva taking Sri Lanaka closer to 280. Of course they can change the order if the situation was similar to the Dilashan & Tharanga carnage witnessed against Zimbabwe; even then the middle order failed.

Perhaps there is no solution. Perhaps it is pointless to even discuss a solution, if it ain't broken, why fix it, as Sri Lanka has only lost one game. Except, this team is not yet tested against a powerhouse like South Africa, and then it might be too late to look for that extra 20 runs the middle order should have scored!