Tillakaratne Dilshan will add another feather to his all-rounder's cap when he opens the batting for Sri Lanka in the first Test against New Zealand from Tuesday.
Tillakaratne Dilshan will add another feather to his all-rounder's cap when he opens the batting for Sri Lanka in the first Test against New Zealand from Tuesday.
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Dilshan agreed to open to lend balance to the team despite playing all his 55 Tests so far in the middle-order where he has scored 3,166 runs at an average of 41.11 with eight centuries.
"Dilshan is the sort of bloke who would willingly do any job for the team," Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said ahead of the Test at the Galle International Stadium.
"He had himself made the suggestion after opening the batting in the World Twenty20 in June, so we decided to give it a go to maintain the balance of the side."
"It is not an easy job to open in Tests. We will see if it works out in the series, otherwise we will revert to a specialist."
Dilshan, who turns 33 in October, is the joker in the Sri Lankan pack with his multi-dimensional talents that Sangakkara and other captains before him have gladly taken advantage of.
Dilshan also bowls off-spin - he has 11 Test wickets - and even kept wickets in the recent three home Tests against Pakistan after first-choice wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene was ruled out with a knee injury.
It turned out to be a tough series for Dilshan, who fractured a finger in his right hand while keeping wickets and then took a blow over his left eye while batting which needed several stitches.
The injuries forced Dilshan to miss the subsequent One-day series against Pakistan, but signalled his comeback by making 68 in a tour game against New Zealand in Colombo last week.
"It will not be difficult for me to open in Tests," he said. "I have done it in one-day and Twenty20 matches and the idea still is to hit the loose ball. I look forward to it."
Dilshan's excitement may be tempered by bad weather over this southern coastal town where heavy rain over the past two days denied the teams serious practice.
Seasonal monsoon thunder showers have been forecast over the next five days.
The tourists will rue a rain-affected match since their best chance in the two-Test series lies in Galle, where seam bowlers took 21 of the 40 wickets during the Pakistan match last month.
New Zealand last won a Test series in Sri Lanka in 1984, but managed to draw both matches on their last trip under Stephen Fleming in 2003.
Daniel Vettori's team face a tough challenge against a home side fresh from a 2-0 win over Pakistan, but a personal milestone beckons the captain in the series.
Vettori needs seven more wickets with his left-arm spin to become only the ninth player in history to achieve the double of 3,000 runs and 300 wickets.
"I am very aware of it," said the 92-Test veteran who has scored 3,220 runs and claimed 293 wickets since his debut against England in 1997.
"I am a statistically minded person so it is a real goal for me and hopefully I will have a lot more years in Test cricket.
"There are some stats I would like to achieve and hopefully I will join some pretty esteemed company."
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