Jayawardene’s stay as captain is critical

Last week’s column captioned – Another Mahela will be hard to find – drew tremendous response from cricket fans who were shocked at Mahela Jayewardene’s probable decision to quit the Sri Lanka captaincy after the Australian tour. There is a surge of emotion asking him to reconsider and be in the saddle for a few years more in order to put Sri Lanka cricket on top of the cricket world,show captain in waiting Anjelo Mathews the nuances of captaincy and then bow out when the stage is fully set.

Premature abdication of the ‘ Throne’ will not augur well for Sri Lanka cricket.

Joining in the call for Jayewardene to keep going is Chairman of Selectors, Ashantha de Mel who insists that Jayewardene must stay in the saddle till the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The fact that De Mel has been in the game and its administration for long and has an ear to the ground means that he is like a physician can read the pulse and knows what’s happening in the scene. He has indeed read right in calling for Jayewardene to stay till the next World Cup.

Wonderful duo

De Mel needs Jayewardene and Jayewardene needs De Mel. Together they have formed a wonderful duo who understand each other, have a good rapport, knows what the game needs to spiral to the top and who have the player and game at heart. Both have been wonderful cricketers. While Jayewardene’s credentials are well-known, a bit on De Mel who the present generation would not know would be good for the record.

De Mel was an outstanding bowling all rounder. In his prime he was the fastest right arm bowler who opened bowling in the inaugural Test against England in 1982 at the P.Sara and captured the first ever Test wicket.

As a batsman he was hard hitting coming down the pecking order and who could be ruthless against any bowling attack. As a fielder he was good in the deep and had a strong throwing arm. In fact he was a Captain’s ‘dream all rounder’.

De Mel has experience

He has batted in the position of Chairman of selectors before and has experience in this role and knows how and what ails Sri Lanka cricket.

Some uncharitable criticism has been bounced at him. But having faced devastating bouncers when in the game, he ducks these harmless bouncers, because they are bowled by those who haven’t played the game and who know nothing of a bouncer or a good length delivery.

Jayewardene who came back when the game was down and out, would not have been faulted had he said a deafening ‘No’. Instead he is on record for having said that he would a make call after the Australia tour. It is the call of every cricketer, cricket fan and country that he reconsiders for the good of the game and stays to lead Sri Lanka’s cricketing troops until the next mountain is scaled.

Great of Madugalle

That stylish batting star of the 1980s and now ICC’s Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle completed a half ‘ton’ of refereeing in Twenty20 Internationals when he officiated in the Australia/West Indies game at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Saturday. Madugalle learnt his cricketing fundamentals at Trinity College, Kandy before joining Royal College,Colombo. At Royal he was fortunate to come under the expert tutelage of Gamini Salgadoe and Derrick de Saram who polished this uncut cricketing gem that the cricketing world stood up to admire.

In the inaugural Test in 1982 against Keith Fletcher’s Englishmen, he made a classic half century and then in the First Test against Kapil Dev’s Indians he chiselled a stylish century at the SSC in 1983. A little known fact was that he was a big spinning offie who in an under-19 game for the Ali Bhutto Trophy, spun a web to take 8 for 34 against a Pakistan team led by Javed Miandad.

Played straight

What was admirable in his batting was that he always played straight.

That’s the hallmark of a great batsman. He went on to captain the country at a time when Sri Lanka did not play many Test matches and in those few Tests he led with great aplomb. He unfortunately quit the game, which he adorned with great humility and respect, prematurely. This was a great loss to the game. He was a very straight bat in the class of Michael Tissera, Anura Tennekoon, Sidat Wettimuny, Roy Dias and Marvan Atapattu.

The International Cricket Council was spot on when they picked him to be the Chief Match Referee. With an unblemished and exemplary record on and off the field the ICC could not have asked or looked for any one better. He is better than the best known.

Without fear or favour

He has been performing his duties as CMR without fear or favour and he has developed a wonderful rapport with every player,captain and team and they respect and hold him in high esteem. Madugalle has match refereed in 136 Test matches, 265 one-day Internationals and 50 Twenty20s. He is miles ahead of all others serving under him.

Having made an homily of the son, I would not be playing my innings right if no mention is made of his father Lionel. Lionel who served in the University, was made Secretary to then Minister of Sports, under the illustrious K.B. Ratnayake.

Wonderful combine

After the first sporting Minister of Sport V.A. Sugathadasa, the next best thing that happened after the Ministry of Sport was formed was the coming together of that wonderful combo of Ratnayake as Minister and Madugalle as Secretary. Ratnayake, like Sugathadasa , was a fine sportsman and with Madugalle they formed a formidable team to accomplish their vision for the improvement and development of sport in the country. When I was the Sports Editor of the ‘Times Group’, I had a good rapport with the twosome and could vouch for the hard work they put in for sport in the country. I had the good fortune of having Lionel Madugalle serving as chairman in the Committees that picked the ‘Times Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year’ and ‘Netball Queen of the Year’ contests.

Lara in ICC Hall of Fame

If Sir Donald Bradman was the best right hand batsman that the cricket world has seen or will ever see, then Brian Lara was the best and stylish left-hand batsman that the world of cricket has seen and will ever see. Lara whose induction was announced at the ICC Cricket Awards Night in Sri Lanka, did well to pay a courtesy call on Sri Lanka’s sporting President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees in the company of his brother and sister and accompanied by his best friend in Sri Lanka, Suresh Edirisinghe. Incidentally Suresh’s daughter Shamilka is Lara’s God Daughter. Suresh is the son of Gamini, Managing Director of Edirisinghe Brothers.That Lara’s phenomenal efforts with the bat for the West Indies

has been finally recognized and appreciated and the best thing that could have happened to him was his induction into cricket’s Hall of Fame.

[email protected]