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| Sunday, 28 March 2004 |
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Sri Lanka has lost many gains by recent indifferent performances by SRIAN OBEYESEKERE It is some 9 years since theming on foreign know-how which came with Ana Punchihewa's dream of making Sri Lanka the best cricket playing nation in the world by 2003. Of course, the dream never realised fruition. But Sri Lanka did win one-day cricket's World Cup and did cross the bridge in achieving some firsts on the Test scene. For Punchihewa, it was but a pipedream with the then cricket boss in the first place not given the blessings to carry on in office to garner what most certainly he breathed in a type of dynamism which brought a match winning coach like Dav Whatmore and a fitness man such as Alex Kontouri. Going on the results delivered by Punchihewa in his favour is the fact that even if his tall dream could not have been met so soon by 2003, yet for all had he continued to guide the destinies of the country's cricket at least his vision would not have been off track going on the basis of having steered things in the right direction. Since then it has been on a crisis ridden governing arm, more often than not that the destinies of the country's cricket has ridden. The infusion of 'more' in so much as itineraries - both Test and one-day-wise and with it of course an influx of revenue coming in ever since Sri Lankan cricketers emerged as heroes in the eyes of the world after thrashing Australia to take the World Cup in 1996. True, all has not been achieved. Sri Lanka still has to traverse a long, long journey in the ardous road of Test cricket before the country can ever dream of realising Ana Punchihewa's dream of becoming the best among the best. But arguably has our cricket begun to lose at least the little it had gained since gaining Test status in 1982? What is more at a time so much soul searching and in depth work has become the order of the day at the Cricket Board, where handpicked former cricketers of yore have been placed in charge of strategic areas in talent honing in a much trumpeted cricket development drive. Despite all this and the foreign expertise has Sri Lanka's fielding lost the clout it once basked, winning accolades from the rest of the world even in the days before gaining Test status, a strong point which compensated for our batting and bowling which was striving to come to grips with the big brothers in the game. Strikingly, the advent of the Arjuna Ranatunga era in the early 1990's in the wake of the Duleep Mendis era of the 1980's saw a degree of professionalism as the country's cricket begun to turn a winning curve. It was during the Ranatunga era that our batsmen found new muscle in terms of coming to grips with that much needed component called endurance or staying durability which Test cricket is all about. Interestingly, in this context while that former livewire of Lankan cricket, Ranatunga, lamented in a T.V. talkshow that such a sterling batsman like Roy Dias had unfortunately not been born to the game a decade later than he did, the recent Sri Lanka-Australia home Test series must raise concern whether we have lost at least what we achieved. And of course, this must reflectively take us to the days of Asanka Gurusinha during whose time in the pivotal No. 3 slot the batting revolved so rock solid on the rock that was Gurusinha with the bat. Indeed, Gurusinha brought with him a new semblance of steel around whom the likes of Aravinda de Silva and Ranatunga weaved. And still importantly after Gurusinha's exit, there was another left-hander in the likes of Hashan Tillekeratne to continue the good work where creditably there was no surfeit of batsmen with such trait that saw Tillekeratne come to be rated as Sri Lanka's 'Mr. Reliable.' But reflectively, as evidenced in the recent series our batsmen seem to have lost what is sacred to stay at the wicket. Tillekeratne the elder statesman has had to lead from the front, captaining the side has understandably been striving to come to grips with the form bug which any batsman undergoes which he put behind in the 3rd test, with a fighting knock. However, some of the younger 'uns have simply thrown their wickets by indiscreet shots. What is appalling is that this happened so regularly where flashing outside the off-stump and one-day strokes looked the order of the day. Here, the sad thing for Sri Lankan cricket is that the main offender was Mahela Jayawardene on whom the country has looked with great expectations as a shining star to take over from an older generation to lead our cricket into a new generation in a world where the game has become so intense and competitive by the day. So many experts were quick to blame Chaminda Vaas for throwing his wicket when Sri Lanka resumed its second innings requiring 51 runs to win with 3 wickets in hand. Vaas erred, but what the critics failed to appreciate was that as a non specialist batsman, Vaas, had certainly contributed his bit. Carrying his bat to a first innings top score of 68 while figuring in a breathtaking last wicket partnership with Muralitharan without which Sri Lanka would not have taken a 91-run first innings lead over Australia. But it seemed Sri Lanka's chance of winning the match went when with the score on 170 for 3, Jayawardene who, was at the wickets with Jayasuriya in full bloom, threw his wicket, flashing outside his off stump to a delivery wide outside the off stump. It was a juncture where 50 more runs could have made the difference. It was the best opportunity for Jayawardene to have compensated for the 3 dropped catches on which Damian Martyn rode to a huge century. Another such disgusting sacrifice though in typically contrasting circumstances was the throwing away of his wicket by Tillekeratne Dilshan, who having reached three figures in the first Test, threw caution to the wind gifting his wicket to the Aussies when Sri Lanka needed him as never before at a time the top order had crumbled. The Australian batsmen being a contrasting model in example to mention Martyn and Lehmann who made the most of dropped chances to make the most of it where the team mattered. This type of rashness from our frontline batsmen when playing against the best team in the world like Australia is most certainly a reflection on the very establishment which is footing pay packets by the lakhs to foreign coaches to take our cricket to a new pedestal. Are our batsmen not going to learn, despite so much honing at a time our cricket has come out of those dark ages when a bygone generation did not have the fortune of having a Whatmore or Dyson to guide them? While it is easy to turn the blame on the captain when things go wrong for whose head critics, have been calling, one wag interestingly struck a chord when he remarked, 'drop the selectors'. Indeed, a remark that must raise eyebrows as to how good or bad the selections were. For a start, the team has been found virtually threadbare in the pace bowling department where Chaminda Vaas has looked a loner. While the strategy of going in with only one pacie for the first Test match in Galle is questionable, the fact that the selectors have not been able to look beyond Nuwan Zoysa for a third seamer must most certainly find the selectors and the whole system wanting at a time they have not been able to find injury replacements to frontliners such as Dilhara Fernando and Prabath Nissanka who are still recuparating. Here, it is worth asking what happened to young finds like Charitha Buddhika Fernando and so many others who blossomed and fell on the wayside. Fernando is a classic example of a bowler who emerged with much promise for his ability to swing the ball either way, but who got the marching orders after the 2001 tour of England. Perhaps, Charitha Buddhika is the best example of the reflection of the sorry state of selections and the set up where Sri Lanka, despite all the fanfare of new things being done for the game, in effect cut short careers of young latent talent. This reflectively is so much in contrast of other top countries like Austyralia and our closest nextdoor neighbour India, who over a period of time finecomb talent and gives time to reap the harvests instead of kicking it on the buttocks. This shortsightedness by all accounts seems to be a malice which the system here which is so detrimental to our cricket, the be alls seem quite content to continue with instead of learning by example. An example in question is the shake-up after the 1999 World Cup when new blood was infused for some of the oldsters such as Dilshan, Indika de Saram and Chamara Silva to mention a few. Today, it is one sorry mess from which our cricket has picked itself up since then. While some of the old block like Aravinda de Silva and Hashan Tillekeratne resultantly suffered in their careers having to fight their way back into the team for the immense potential they had in them, the younger set in turn suffered for being summarily selected and then discarded without given sufficient exposure which is so sacrosanct a basis to countries like Australia, South Africa and India in team building. Here, this factor must again take us to the second string teams above all the 'A' team which the selectors have time and again boasted of giving new depth so as to feed the main team. But a big question mark exists whether in reality this has become a reality considering some of the shoddy selections where latent talent has evidently not found fruition, the home Australian series being the best example. A topic which must also take us to youngsters like Jehan Mubarak and Michael van Dort. Interestingly, Mubarak showed early promise during Sri Lanka's tour of South Africa in 2003 ahead of the World Cup. Mubarak made a 40-odd opening in place of an injured Jayasuriya in a Test match. But after that, he was baptised in the one-day form during the height of its extravaganza where he failed and many felt Mubarak had been simply rushed in. But since although in the waiting wings turning out for the 'A' team, here is a youngster who has not found systemetic grooming back into the main for which the best opportunity could have been the second Test match where instead Avishka Goonewardena, who is more a basher, was rushed in. Goonewardena is in itself a tragi-comic reflection in example of misuse where a potential basher of the ball in the likes of Jayasuriya, who has mauled some international bowling attacks including the West Indies for some scorching knocks including a century, now finds himself stranded in his late 30's. Talent which has strutted in fits and starts, not finding due nurturing into the one-day team at a time the country could have done with such likes in looking for replacements for Romesh Kaluwitharana. The other is Upul Chandana who has been used more as a stop-gap player, substituting for others while playing in the odd match. The Goonewardena mess up in itself is a sorry reflection of the state of the way our cricket has gone about picking selectors. There has been no consistent policy of selecting selectors where different sets have come and gone, leaving ruined careers and heartaches for many. This most certainly is a kick back to the game here at a time so much is said being done for it. It is time the selectors realised that latent talent is not something to be toyed with at whim and fancy, but a national wealth which must find due reward for their labour, instead of heartbreaks where today we hear of many a youngster from the village making it to the metropolis only to find himself stranded like in the case of Indika de Saram, who came from Matara fell on the way for want of adequate exposure, and has picked himself up virtually by his own efforts without a proper coach but found no recognition. |
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