Need of the hour: work and not talk

The contest is gathering momentum by the day: who is going to be the Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket and put things right? The crucial; and eagerly awaited Annual General Meeting is slated to be held on January 3,2012 after seven long years.

Interim Committees batted during the previous seven years, till finally the International Cricket Council ruled that Sri Lanka Cricket and world cricket bodies should be run by elected bodies.

At the time of writing, two contestants are in the fray. They are Thilanga Sumathipala and Upali Dharmadasa. Sumathipala was the Chairman of SLC when it was dissolved and an Interim Committee installed.

High profile status

Before Sumathipala, Dharmadasa had a stint at the SLC wicket as Chairman. Both batted efficiently and with aplomb and did all that was possible in their endeavor to give the game, the player and the administration the high profile status it required in the time honoured game. Sumathipala and Dharmadasa were best friends who did yeoman service for the game, until they unfortunately parted ways and batted on different wickets.

Now they are fronting up to each other’s bouncers and the cricket world is watching has to who will counter the bounces better and come out winner.

Dharmadasa and Sumathipala have enough experience and are aware of what ills that ails the premier game in the country. There is little to choose between the two and whoever is finally elected to the onerous, glamorous and prestigious position, it is hoped that he will deliver.

One thing is however important : lets not have an acrimonious contest but rather a healthy competition as both these gentlemen have the potential to work and not simply talk. Whoever wins needs to strike an alliance with the other to further the lofty interests of the game. It’s a National cause.

Grandiose schemes

Both have made public their grandiose schemes, which on reading looks formidable and if they have the ability and the resources to put this talk into work, then the sport all round is in for good times and should before long reach its former glory days.

One sector they must concentrate and pay maximum attention is school cricket. In the good old days school cricket was of a very high standard and provided some great cricketers who walked into the national team as schoolboy cricketers. These names are too numerous to mention. Now that the era of Interim Committee’s will be a thing of the past, it would be good for posterity to mention the illustrious gentlemen who rode the high horse who performed to their abilities under very trying circumstances to score for the game, such as Rienzie Wijetilleke, Hemaka Amarasuriya, Vijay Malalasekera, Jayantha Dharmadasa, Arjuna Ranatunga, D.Somachandra de Silva and Upali Dharmadasa for a short time.

The thunder, down under

The ‘thunder, down under’, is the blurb ESPN Star Cricket broadcaster’s of the Test series between India and Australia are projecting in their endeavor to increase their viewership. The first Test begins on Boxing Day, December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

That this series is going to attract more than ordinary interest there is no doubt. Previously when India toured Australia there was chockfull of interest, riddled with acrimony and India refusing to go ahead with the remainder of the tour, insisting that umpire Steve Bucknor be removed from the panel of umpires standing in the series.

India won the day with the International Cricket Council caving in, which left a bad taste in the mouth and which finally prompted one of the best umpires in the game –‘slow death’ umpire Steve Bucknor to say enough is enough and sadly give up umpiring. An umpire of his calibre was rare.

Two actors missing

But sadly two of the actors who made that tour memorable and added spice to it Andrew Symonds of Australia and Harbhajan Singh of India will be missing. The two sledged, traded insults and it was exciting and interesting watching their antics.

Harbhajan has been dumped for lack of bowling form, while Symonds went out on disciplinary grounds. It is hoped that another couple of characters will emerge and make the tour interesting in all ways.

As for Harbhajan, it was the sudden emergence of Ravichandra Ashwin that took him off the Indian cricket selectors’ radar. Ashwin has performed as an extraordinary all rounder. He is a thinking and clever off spinner and could be a punishing batsman as he showed when he blasted a century in a Test match against the West Indies.

Invincible bubble burst

The Indian cricketers who were riding on a crest of a wave of success in the ‘cowboy’ game, with 11 wins-in-a-row finally watched their invincible bubble burst when the West Indies came back with a vengeance to beat them by 16 runs in the third game after losing the first two games. Those watching the final 34 balls on Neo Cricket where the two unbeaten batsmen skipper Darren Sammy 41 and Andre Russell 40,

plundered 73 runs would have been awe struck watching the devastating big hitting by these two batsmen.

The six that Sammy improvised to hit a six off a ball that could have been signalled wide that sailed over the point boundary had to be seen to be believed. And the remaining sixes and fours that cascaded from their bats were amazing.

Savage power

A trait in the West Indies batsmen from the time they first struck a ball was to hit the ball with savage power. They are naturals and it is magic to see them when in full cry. To them winning or losing is no big deal.

A ball is meant to be hit and they will do that not at the least worried whether it’s the first or the last ball of a match and whatever the situation they are in. That is why it is said that England play for prestige, Australia for glory,and West Indies for GLAMOUR.

And another significant thing is to watch the Indian cricket fans jam packing every venue where the India- West Indies matches are played. There is not a vacant seat. It is amazing considering that Indian stars – Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh all crowd pullers are missing.

That is credit for the West Indies style of play and they are the ideal draw cards for this game where attempts have to made to hit the covers off every ball which brings to mind that perennial sung by, if my memory serves me right by Lord Flea – cricket luver’ly cricket at Lord’s where I saw it.

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