Rescue Sri Lanka Cricket from Implosion

What befell Humpty Dumpty sadly awaits Sri Lanka Cricket .....after what appears the great fall, not even the King's horses and all the King's men could not put Humpty together again, to paraphrase the perennial Nursery Rhyme!

The Humpty Dumpty fate that befalls Sri Lanka Cricket is predictable, unless the powers that be step in immediately and stop this implosion and reverse all the gains we have notched up over the last decade. It's a cricketing dengue perhaps that has afflicted the game. Unless this cricketing dengue is eradicated once and for all, it is the cricketer, the game and the powers that be who would have to face the disgrace and hide their faces in shame.

From what we hear and read, there seems to be 'camps' in the team. Like in life, even in sport and especially in a team game, there has to be peace and harmony and all must play as a team.

From what we can gather there are some playing for themselves, some playing badly so that Sri Lanka can lose, yet others playing to keep Tillakeratne Dilshan as captain, and yet others ganging up to dump Dilshan.

To use a colloquial anology.... the team-if one can call it that-is a right royal "Achharu" that tastes bad!

Foreigners in the scrum

And this affliction gets even worse when it is being mentioned that foreigners have also joined in the melee to see that their men are played in the team; and to stretch it further to even bring back captains who left the team in the lurch when their services were most needed.

To those maneuvering to get back into the saddle we would like to stress on them that they should know when to hold and when to fold.

The frustrated men behind the moves to wreck the game and force their way back to the top have garnered support from the agents and managers, and former cricketers are determined to play their favourites.

When this happens their agents and managers stand to gain by sharing in the spoils and in the process spoiling the player and the game and creating utter chaos.

Those planning and endeavoring to execute a coup have been meeting in clubs that don't play the game and at five star hotels, joined by the foreigners and if their machinations are not nipped in the bud, the game will soon be in quicksand, being sucked into oblivion.

Authorities must act

It's therefore time for authorities that matter and who have been installed to guard and guide the game and its destinies, to step down from their ivory towers and act. By now they must be having an inkling of what goes on behind the scenes. And if they don't act they will be accused of dereliction of duty.

Whoever or however powerful or indispensible the individual or individuals, the powers that be must not fear to act. No one they must understand is indispensible. Men may come and men may go but this wonderful game must go on. The sooner these spoil sports are fumigated and banished the better it will be for the game, the player and the administration. It is better to play with a fresh set of cricketers, rather than allow the seniors in the team to bring disgrace on the game with their dirty and under hand tactics.

To play a straight bat, is the great virtue taught to every cricketer from the time he begins to handle a bat in this great game. Sad that these spoil sports after learning this virtue are showing ignorance and working against its very tenets.

Progress stalled

The dropping of a senior for poor form has somewhat stalled the progress of the spoil sports. More has to be done and in this respect chairman of selectors Duleep Mendis must be given more powers. What he did when he was Chairman of selectors and manager of the 1995/96 team that won the World Cup is still vivid.

Skipper Dilshan must play a much stronger role and assert himself as captain. He is the leader and that's how he must remain. He should not brook any nonsense from whichever quarter it comes. Senior junior, he must treat them equally and if any of them are playing up and refusing to do his bidding then he must not hesitate to dump them.

Dilshan's troubles stem from the fact that he comes from a lesser known school- Kalutara Vidyalaya. But that should not be a hindrance to him.

Today the majority of players in the national team come from lesser known schools and they have with their performances underlined that what their team mates from bigger known schools can do they can do better.

Dilshan is not having the luxury of a Muttiah Mualitharan or a Chaminda Vaas in his bowling attack. He has to attempt to win a match with a set of freshmen bowlers.

Two champions

Skippers such as Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara had these two champions who had the ability to bowl out opposing teams twice and bring victory. Dilshan is lacking that luxury so he must be given time till match winning bowlers come along.

And if a change of captain is necessary there is a great one in waiting and that is Angelo Mathews. Mathews has all what it takes to be a champion captain. His only drawback is his injury. As a batsman he has carried the Sri Lankan batting on his broad shoulders as was evident against Australia in the recent series.

Even in the first innings of the First Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, he showed his prowess by helping the team reach a score of 197 when at one stage they looked like folding up for something lesser than 150. His unbeaten 52 saved the blushes for the team and coach Geoff Marsh.

[email protected]