Amla leads South Africa with exemplary captaincy

The South African cricketers led by the first-ever non-white Captain Hashim Amla rewrote their cricket history when they won a Test series against Sri Lanka for the first time in 21 years and helped them go top of the pops in Test cricket.

They achieved this honour when in the Two-Test series they put to

second best Sri Lanka by 153 runs at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. Earlier they pocketed the one-day series 2-1.

While the South Africans flew away with broad smiles on their faces, the Sri Lankan cricketers who performed marvelously in England winning all three formats of the game and in the process rewriting history by being the first team to win a Test series were made to lick their self inflicted wounds sustained in defeat.

It was the daring Captaincy of Amla that made victory possible for

them in Galle. The declaration took everyone by surprise. In so doing Amla put his neck on the block. It was great credit to him that he won. Had he lost the South African selectors would have had daggers drawn and it would have been the end of the Amla reign.

Chockful of interest

It’s declarations like this that brings Test cricket alive. It rejuvenates a slowly dying game with the advent of the limited overs encounters.The two and a half sessions that South Africa required to beat the Sri Lankans were chockful of interest and it remained that way till the final ball was delivered.

Congratulations to both Captains Hashim Amla and Angelo Mathews for their bold approach to the game and which was an example for other Captains to follow. Declarations like this will have turnstiles creaking for oil and bringing spectators flooding in to watch Test cricket which is what the game is all about.

It brings back memories of two former Captains who brought Test

cricket alive and had all venues such as Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide overflowing with spectators wanting to soak in the action that was heart stopping.

The two Captains were Richie Benaud of Australia and Frank Worrell of the West Indies. They could be termed the best ever Captains that the game ever saw and will ever see. Test cricket today is gasping for Captains of Benaud and Worrell’s dash, daring and calibre. They played the first ever tied Test in Brisbane.

A near 90 thousand crowd

That Test series that was played in 1960/’61 which West Indies did not deserve to lose saw a near 90 thousand crowd watching the Melbourne Test and an even bigger crowd lining the streets to give the Calypso boys a ticker tape farewell that is still being spoken about.

Sadly Worrell who brought together the island cricketers and showed them how to perform as a team died quite young but his legacy continues. That was the era of Sobers, Kanhai, Hall and Gibbs. What cricketers they were. West Indies cricket will never again reach those dizzy heights.

Back to the Sri Lanka- South Africa series and with South African

cricket showing promise of much more now that they are the top of the pops in Test cricket, the Sri Lankan game which dipped will have to rise again and face the tough as nails Pakistanis who arrived here yesterday to play Two Tests ad Three One-Day games with the First Test beginning in Galle on Wednesday.

It was sad that the Lankans could not pull off a certain victory

against South Africa in the final Test at the SSC what with having

ample time to do so. With left arm leg spinner Rangana Herath and off spinner Dilruwan Perera doing their utmost, the inability of the third spinner Ajantha Mendis to strike deprived the team of a series equaling victory.

Won’t blame Mendis

As for us we won’t blame Mendis. Mendis started his Test cricket in startling style against the Indians with a haul of over 30 wickets with his variety of spin with the carom ball being the mystery delivery.

But instead of reserving Mendis only to Test cricket, those at the helm of the game at that time tossed him into the limit overs game which changed his fortunes. He bowled a lovely loop and varied his deliveries which were tantalizing and attacking.

But with limited over games requiring defensive bowling to cut down runs, he suddenly lost his flight and guile and he began to bowl flat, thereby losing the sting and his wicket taking abilities. He must be again told and shown to use more flight like he did earlier in his career that will give him more spin and bring back his wicket taking abilities.

With the left arm leg spin and off spin, had the third spinner been a good leg spinner the Test could easily have been won. The only leg spinner we have in Seekkugge Prasanna has also been tossed into the one-day evil.

Vithanage has promise

The only leg spinner we saw was Kithuruwan Vithanage. This young man has promise. If the selectors are going to use him in Tests then they will have to do a lot of work with him in the nets. Leg spin/googly bowling is the most difficult art in bowling and it requires a lot of sweat and toil at the nets. Once mastered, the leg spinner becomes a match winner. Shane Warne was an example.

Not many Captains have confidence and persist with a leg spinner and it was so refreshing to watch Hashim Amla continuing to persist with leg spinner Imran Thahir, although the bowler was going for a lot of runs, because he was not bowling at his best.

But the Amla’s decision was vindicated when Thahir got the wicket of Mahela Jayewardene in the second innings. Thahir’s short comings were that in his anxiety he was rushing and running in quick and bowling flat.

Having said that we now move on to debutant new kid Niroshan Dickwella, his memorable debut and his brush with the law that brought him a 10 per cent cut in his match fee. Now we won’t commend his action. But to us we feel that the cut was too harsh considering that he was young and in his anxiety and over enthusiasm got the better of him.

The sin Dickwella committed

The sin he committed was that he claimed a catch on a bounce and celebrated throwing the ball in the air thus receiving an official reprimand after being found guilty of a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct.Commenting on his decision former Kiwi Captain Jeff Crowe who was the match referee said: ‘While claiming an unfair catch is a serious offence, we noted that this Niroshan’s first Test and in excitement he claimed the catch. We are sure that in future, when a catch of this nature is in doubt, he will indicate such’.

The charge was leveled by on-field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Nigel Llong, third umpire Billy Bowden, all from the Emrates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and fourth umpire Ranmore Martinesz.

Considering the ball tampering by Vernon Philander which amounted to cheating, the offence Dickwella committed was not as serious and accepted that the Law was applied in the Dickwella incident, those involved would not have been faulted had they veered away from the rule and slapped a reprimand on Dickwella and not the fine.

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