Lankans enter Q’Final with much promise

The Sri Lankan team displayed its strength and its share of weakness as it finished their first round games in the 2011 World cup by outsmarting the Kiwis by a convincing 112 runs in game that had its share of controversy at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.

The strength emerged from the gallant early showing in the 145 run third wicket partnership between the captain Kumar Sangakkara 111 and vice captain Mahela Jayawardena who put on 145 after the early loss of openers Upul Tharanga and Tillekeratne Dilshan. This is the type of leadership that is the envy of many a competing team.

Sangakkara who is on a roll fashioned out a stylish century which had all the strokes from the book. And Jayawardena once again played a responsible knock of 66.

And the Sri Lankan weakness was evident by way of the middle order collapse which must be worrying to the Lanka camp. Yet Angelo Mathews hit hard to make 41.

Sri Lanka’s vibrancy when it came to its turn to field, was displayed in the form of Muttiah Muralitharan’s 4 for 25 who put on show his spin magic to bemuse and baffle the Kiwi batsmen who seemed utterly helpless. And the rest of the Sri Lankan bowling attack also showed promise.

With this win Sri Lanka end up second in their ‘A’ Group and will play their quarter-final at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

Mahela - a gentleman

There was controversy mid way in the Sri Lankan innings when Mahela Jayawardena lobbed a ball which bowler Nathan McCallum dived full length to hold, it seemed, in spectacular style.

Jayawardena had his doubts and stayed his ground. The on field umpire referred it upstairs to the TV umpire who after several looks at the incident ruled the batsman not out, much to the consternation of the fielder, the team and all the TV commentators who were all convinced that the catch was clean.

Jayawardena a former Sri Lanka captain is one of the finest young men playing the game today. In fact he is probably the last of a dying breed of gentleman cricketers playing who is honest to a fault and who will play the game to the rules. If he was convinced he was out he would not have stayed his ground.

Knowing him as I do I can vouch for that. And while it was a close call, the ruling of the TV Umpire should be accepted as a final ruling which —like it or not— was in Jayawardena’s favour.

‘Rawalpindi Express’ Shoaib Akhtar will no more run along the fast bowling rail road line. This tornado of a fast bowler has decided to give his fast bowling arm a rest and quit the game at the conclusion of the 2011 World Cup.

This World Cup will also see the retirement of John Davison who sported Canada colours. Davison once held the record for the fastest century in World Cup cricket in 67 deliveries against the West Indies in 2003 at the Centurion in South Africa.

In that memorable game he smashed six sixes and seven fours. Davison was born in Canada but reared in Australia. He never got the opportunity of sporting kangaroo colours, but played for South Australia.

Not only cricketers

Generally every World Cup sees the retirement of not only cricketers, but also coaches. Sri Lanka’s Australian coach Trevor Bayliss and India’s South African coach Gary Kiresten will also be quitting after the 2011 World Cup.

Of the quitters, the realization that cricketers and cricket fans will not see the likes of Akhtar thundering in and let flying at opposing batsmen will be tinged with sadness. Fast bowlers have, from the time the game was invented, been a huge draw.

There is no better sight in the game than to watch a fast bowler running in, like being chased by a hungry tiger to send batsmen’s ducking for cover or sending their wickets cart wheeling.

Great fast men

From the time we came to know cricket, fast bowlers who lit up the game and made crowds yell for more blood were Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Fred Trueman, Brian Statham, Frank Tyson, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thompson, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Wayne Daniel.

Fast bowlers are temperamental as they come and Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar is no different. Taking over from two of their finest fast men Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis he instilled fear on batsmen arrowing the red cherry at batsmen with terrifying speed.

Like all fast men are known to suffer, Akhtar too had his share of injuries and niggles. Like all fast men, he too had his share of problems with the establishment and lost out on cricket.

Off field problems

But when injury and off field problems seemed likely to prematurely stall his future, he came back with a vengeance to cock a snook at his detractors and add victims to his vast collection.

Akhtar’s quitting will no doubt leave a big vacuum that will not easily be filled in Pakistan cricket. But he will always be remembered for the thrill a minute action he provided to spectators where he strode the field like a colossus.

It is said that all good things must come to an end. And it was no different with Davison and Akhtar. We hope they will not be lost to the game, but will contribute in their retirement to make the player and the game better for those aspiring to play. It was an emotional farewell when he broke the news at the Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.

Poor Asoka de Silva

Sri Lanka’s former leg spinning all rounder and now an elite umpire Asoka de Silva has run into turbulence with umpiring in the on-going 2011 World Cup coming in for question. De Silva was pencilled to stand in the crucial England- West Indies game and was the third umpire in the India-West Indies game.

Instead the ICC revised schedule found de Silva being the fourth umpire in the Ireland-Netherlands game. He was the on-field umpire in a game of no consequence between Kenya and Zimbabwe game.

De Silva’s umpiring came in for criticism in some of the games he did. He was the only umpire among the 18 whose success percentage in reviewed decisions was less than 50 per cent.

Very unkind on De Silva when one thinks that he was performing an arduous job to the best of his ability. He raised his finger or moved his head sideways the way he saw it happen.

During his playing days he played the game in the best of spirits, always maintaining its lofty traditions and was one of the finest leg spin/googly bowlers produced by the country.

Given his inherent skill in the field of umpiring I have no doubt that De Silva will take the setback in a positive spirit as those who know him respect him for his ability and fair judgement.

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