After Sri Lanka closed the first day of the opening Test at 279 for 7, the star performers from each side, Shaun Pollock and Mahela Jayawardene, gave their thoughts on the day’s play
Wisden Cricinfo staff04-Aug-2004
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Shaun Pollock
On the pitch
It wasn’t easy as there was not a lot on offer, but it was nice to have the sea breeze and get a little bit of movement in the air. In the subcontinent if you can get [the ball] to do something, to cut or swing, it obviously makes the batter think a bit. There was a little bit of that with the two new balls and it worked for us.On South Africa’s day
It was important we got off to a good start, and we got two early wickets and picked up more pretty regularly through the day. If you said 279 for 7 on that deck on the first day of a Test match we would have been more than happy. Those last two wickets were definitely the cherry on the top, and I’m sure that knocked them a little bit in the dressing-room. Our first innings is really important. If we can cash in and put a big score on the board and they have to catch up, then we are in control.On Jayawardene’s innings
He played really well and kept us out there. He was patient and applied himself on a pitch that was batsman-friendly.On whether the pitch will deteriorate
The ideal thing from our perspective is not to think there are gremlins. We have got to go out there looking to be positive. Even if there are balls that are turning big or going through the top, we are going to have to try and play every ball on its merits.Mahela Jayawardene
On Sri Lanka’s day
It was a very difficult day for us. We lost early wickets and every time we thought we could get on top of them we lost more wickets. I knew I had to bat as long as possible. We are disappointed that we lost two wickets towards the end. If we had been five down tomorrow it would have been a very good day. But I think we have a couple of decent guys inside who can hang around a bit. I think 350 would be a very good score on this wicket, because it is very slow and spinners will get a lot of turn on it. South Africa will have to bat last. Hopefully, we can do the job.On South Africa’s bowlers
South Africa bowled to a very good plan, especially the quicks. They knew that they didn’t have that much in the wicket so they bowled to a decent line and length. We had to be very patient to get our runs. When a couple of us played bad shots they put the pressure on. [Nicky] Boje bowled well, getting some turn, and the others just stuck to their task, bowling one side of the wicket trying to force us to make a mistake.On batting on the Galle pitch
I enjoy batting on this track, but it is usually a much better wicket than this. It was pretty hard as the ball was not coming onto the bat and I had to wait for the bad stuff. I could not force myself and try to dominate the bowlers. It will get worse, there is no doubt about that. Murali was talking a lot in the break after Boje got some turn. I never expected the pitch to give that much turn so early in the game, so I am sure that Murali and Upul [Chandana] will look forward to bowling on it.
