Match Facts
December 26-30, Durban
Start time 10:00 (08:00GMT)
Start time 10:00 (08:00GMT)
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| Matches: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Durban Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka tour of South Africa Teams: South Africa | Sri Lanka | |||
The Big Picture
For a team that has almost always been near the summit of the Test rankings, South Africa's recent home record is surprisingly ordinary - no series wins in more than three years. Their performances at Kingsmead in that period are similarly bleak - losing to each of the other major contenders for the title of world's best Test team. Graeme Smith and his side get the chance to erase both those blots this week as they take on a disjointed Sri Lanka.
After subsiding for below 200 in both innings of the first Test, the Sri Lanka batsmen won't be overly thrilled at the sight of a green-tinged track. In a bid to bolster the batting, Sri Lanka are mulling bringing in highly rated wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal in place of Kaushal Silva, who hasn't had the best of times in his three matches as replacement for regular gloveman Prasanna Jayawardene.
The number that is becoming synonymous with discussions about the decline of Sri Lankan cricket is the number of Tests they have gone without a victory since the retirement of their greatest player, Muttiah Muralitharan, last year. That now stands at 15, but almost as worrying is that in only two of those matches have Sri Lanka managed to bowl out the opposition twice.
Adding to the troubles on the field, are the many problems off it. A bankrupt board which is struggling to pay player salaries, and has indefinitely postponed its domestic matches. To top it off was the confusion in communication - their captain Tillakaratne Dilshan's announcement that fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara will join the squad was over-ruled a few days later by the sports ministry. All of which means Sri Lanka will need a Christmas miracle to pull off a victory in Durban.
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