I don't want my seamers to get carried away on South African wickets: Angelo Mathews

Sri Lanka is all set to tour South Africa for a three-Test, three-T20I and three-ODI series. They have roped in Pakistan legend Wasim Akram as the bowling consultant for the series. Ahead of the tour skipper Angelo Mathews who is making a comeback from a calf injury wants his pace bowlers to stick to the basics and not get carried away while bowling on South African wickets.

“I don’t want my seamers to get carried away on these wickets. I want them sticking to the basics. Even when the conditions suit the bowlers, you’ve still got to get the ball in the right spots without getting carried away…the same thing applies whether you’re bowling in South Africa, England or New Zealand,” Mathews said yesterday.

He just recovered from an injury but is willing to take the risk and bowl in the series. “I am 100 percent confident of my fitness. I am hoping to bowl quite a lot in South Africa. If I can bowl a lot more, the way I did in the recent few years, I can offer a lot to my team. I’ve managed my workload especially in the subcontinent on slow wickets. My bowling is mostly suited when the ball is slightly swinging and seaming.” Mathews said.

“In Asian conditions, I haven’t bowled that much but if it is South Africa, Australia or England, where the ball is seaming and moving, I might have to bowl a bit more because getting wickets is also important for my team,” he added.

The allrounder wasn’t worried about injuries and said, “Injuries can occur any time but I don’t think it’s because I bowl. The fast bowlers or medium-pacers will always have niggles,”

Sri Lanka have a South African coach in Graham Ford and his experience and knowledge of the conditions will definitely help the team get accustomed sooner. “There is no better person than Fordy, he’s got so much experience coaching various teams in different conditions. We are all looking forward to picking his brains about what it will take to succeed in these conditions,” Mathews said.

Sri Lanka will play a tour match on Saturday against an Invitation side while the first Test at Port Elizabeth starts on December 26.