A rangy fast medium bowler with a bustling approach to the wicket, Eric
Upashantha has been on the fringes of the Sri Lankan team for a number of
seasons, but inconsistent performances have stopped him from cementing a
permanent position despite Sri Lanka's dearth of pace bowlers. He made his
ODI debut on Sri Lanka's tour of Pakistan in 1995/96, after making the squad
during the proceeding tour of Australia, but failed to make an impact and
dropped out of the picture. Recalled for the Asian Test Championship in
1999, shortly before the World Cup in England, he played his only Test to
date against India at SSC. In the first innings he struggled - as did the
other seamers - bowled a vigorous spell in the second, capturing 2-41. In
the following Pepsi Cup he managed to impress sufficiently to earn a
position in the World Cup squad. In conditions that generally favoured the
seam bowlers his performances were disappointing. Failing to deliver with a
consistent action he struggled to control the ball, bowling an inconsistent
length and spraying the ball. Again he fell out of favour, returning to play
for Colts Cricket Club in the domestic competition. Since then he appeared
briefly during Sri Lanka's ODI tour of New Zealand in February 2001, before
being recalled to the squad for England as cover for the injured Dilhara
Fernando.(30.04.2002)
