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| Sunday, 7 July 2002 |
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Tears of defeat by Srian Obeyesekere What luck! To re-write the record books and end up on the losing side. Indeed, Jayasuriya must rue his fortunes. His bat beckoned. And the records simply fell by the wayside in the face of that 78-ball blitzkierg... The fastest century on English soil in 82 minutes by Clive Lloyd in 1975... Fastest century against England by Majid Khan. Both had fallen in a twinkle of Jayasuriya's bat. Indeed, Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya had it all in his bag. In the face of a terrific onslaught on the England bowlers, Jayasuriya had smashed two longstanding records as he moved to the fastest century off 78 balls in the land called the mecca of cricket. That he did it with such consummate ease must have made the feat not sound gigantic. No, not for a man for whom records come in its stride when his bat beckons. He also holds the record for the fastest one-day fifty off 28 balls against Pakistan in Singapore in 1996 and for the fourth in a very elite band for the highest individual Test score of 340 against India in Colombo in 1997. It was Sri Lanka's third successive defeat in the ongoing Nat West one-day triangular tournament also competed by India. Jayasuriya's whirlwind century containing 9 boundaries and 4 sixes had not been good enough to beat England who went past Sri Lanka's 240 for 7 wickets with 3 wickets intact with 4 balls to spare in a rain reduced 32 over match at Headingley in Leeds. It was a knock smacking of innovation by its maker to which other countries have taken to in the wake of its high success. Not the least England as the Flintoffs now try out a leaf on which Sri Lanka's Jayasuriya-Romesh Kaluwitharana combination rode in their world cup success of 1995 - `96. For Jayasuriya the Headingley defeat despite his heroics with the bat must taste bad. Suffering from some captaincy mistakes, the rotation of his bowlers leaving a big question mark after England galloped when the Lankan captain seemed to have had the match well wrapped up in his bag. The defeat must as much taste bad for the Sri Lankan cricket authorities. It was another sob story for the touring Lankan cricket team. Defeat after defeat having followed the team ever since they landed in England. Still worse something drastically wrong with the team. Clearly, the England tour has sounded the alarm bells. Sri Lanka can forget the next 2003 world cup. From this outfit one cannot dream of winning the cup less than an year from now in South Africa. England, a country that had been backpadling in the one-day game to whom Sri Lanka once dictated terms, has brought the former world champions to their knees. The bowling department more than any other needs immediate addressing. The pace bowling has been just ordinary with Vaas, Zoysa and Dilhara failing to adhere to the basics - line and length. Good length deliveries have been far and few with short pitched stuff being thrashed by the English batsmen. Mostly Zoysa and Dilhara striving to buy wickets mainly on bounce. But any coach will say that buying wickets can come only by the discipline of bowling line and length and attacking the stumps making the batsman play at good length deliveries. True, Sri Lanka has been minus star bowler Muttiah Muralitharan who only played in the second Test match. But even in that match the English batsmen showed they had devised a strategy of jumping out of the crease and lofting Muralitharan quite effectively. What must augur badly is that despite the cold outing in cold English conditions, the word corrective doesn't seem to have held much to the authorities. For a starter, the team management did nothing over the Ruchira Perera affair. After being reported for chucking only after an England player, Mark Butcher wrote in a newspaper column so, the Lankan team management despite remedial measures been taken on Perera's bowling action, by all accounts did nothing in his interests. When Ruchira could have been played in the third Test match, he wasn't. It raised questions even from such quarters as Ian Botham and David Lloyd. Ruchira had been Sri Lanka's most successful bowler in the first Test at Lords troubling the England batsmen with his rising deliveries accounting for 5 of the cream. Then when it comes to England's J. Kirtley whose chucking action has not gone unnoticed conspicuously by Indian commentators led by Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, the faulty action is okay by the English media and the umpires. Said Shastri during the first India-England match last week, " Hope Ruchira Perera is watching Kirtley in action". Why is it that the Lankan team management has not protested over Kirtley's arm action which rings of a chuck at the point of delivery? The batting cannot be altogether satisfying. At Headingley bar Jayasuriya, none of the other frontline batsmen came up with worthwhile scores. In comparison the England batsmen attacked every ball for a possible run. But this was lacking in the Lankan camp with Marvan Atapattu content to be sedate even conceding a maiden. Meanwhile, there have been rumblings of disunity within the team. This too can arise only when the house is not in order. Some of the selections itself smack of criticism. The selection of youngster Naveed Nawaz ran into much questioning in the t.v. commentary box by Gavaskar, Shastri and Sidhu who felt Sri Lanka missed the likes of the tried and tested Aravinda de Silva left to be a mere spectator, and Kumar Dharmasena could have been value in experience. Why was tried and tested utility one-day player Dharmasena cold shouldered? The lean and lanky Dharmasena has been an asset to Lankan cricket with his fastish off cutters getting vital breakthroughs in the one-day game. And a plucky batsman who can keep one end going. The England experience has also had eyebrows raised as to the role of coach Dav Whatmore. Why he has not been co-ordinating with the captain with no messages of advice been sent to the middle. What has happened to all the expertise. Surely, didn't the Aussie expert Darryl Foster instill in our bowlers the basics in fast bowling? What happened to Suresh Perera who has suddenly dropped out of the one-day team? He too was called for chucking and had to be cleared by the ICC bowling review panel on chucking. But its over an year and the cricket authorities apparently content to sit on the matter. Suresh, a medium pacie and hard hitting batsman was singled out by batting coach Barry Richards as the allround bowler out of his four pace bowlers who should make the team for the 2003 world cup. But alas! Another example of messing up. Indeed, it will need some miracle work to restore balance in the one-day team before 2003. For Jayasuriya, Headingley must sound the joys of a magic wand short lived. Where victory should have been rightfully his. For the majesty of his bat which only he can command. |
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