Warnaweera wicket in Galle provides decisive stimulus

It is nice to be back after savouring the exciting Sri Lankan victory over Pakistan in the historic city of Galle by a big margin of 7 wickets with the honour of hitting the historic winning run falling to Captain ANGELO DAVIS MATHEWS. The Wicket prepared by Warnaweera fittingly brought about a “weera” outcome!

I have been to Galle before, but this is the first time that I took in the history that has been associated with that beautiful city of Galle while doing my morning walk inside the Fort and on the Ramparts overlooking the Galle International Cricket Stadium.

Watching the tranquility and the activity of the sea with its waves lapping, I could not believe that this was the sea that erupted in all its stinging anger destroying homes, humans and other things that stood in its way with people taking long to realize that it as the tsunami. Inside the Fort are the museums, the Police Barracks, the bungalow of the Deputy Inspector General of the Southern Province, the Southern Province High Court and the Magistrate’s Court, the several jewellery shops the hotels and the guest houses, the churches and temples. Every morning I noticed newly married couples posing for photographs opposite the Courts Complex.

Galle’s scenic beauty

One has to be at the scene to enjoy and be amazed at the scenic beauty which defies description. Standing on the Ramparts and enjoying the cut outs of Sri Lanka cricketing legend Mahela Jayewardene what struck, shocked and brought back tearful memories was the tsunami that hit Galle drowning many of its citizens on that fateful day – December 26, 2004.

But the resilience of the Galle people saw to it that a new City was born and so it is. Destroyed also was the now newly built Galle International Cricket Stadium. I have played at the old Galle Stadium and that was era when matches had to be stopped to allow people to walk across the field and also shoo away the stray cattle. The Galle Fort can be turned into a thriving tourist destination.

At the old Galle Cricket Club has now sprouted the new Galle International Cricket Stadium with lovely buildings and turf wickets - in the old days it was matting wicket cricket - where even the West Indies cricketing legend Sir Frank Worrell showed his class and finesse with the willow.

The task of seeing to a new stadium being built fell on the broad shoulders of former Sri Lankan off cutter Jayananda Warnaweera. Sri Lanka Cricket too played its financial strokes and so was born the GICS, with the imposing Mahinda Rajapaksa Pavilion and the spacious and comfortable Media Boxes and stands.

Warnaweera quite a character

Warnaweera is quite a character in Galle. He is full of bonhomie, camaraderie and chatter and is ‘Warna’ to everyone. During play he does not fail to visit the Media Box and regale junors with his witticism and wisecracks which has the media people laughing their sides out. During his playing days he was called ‘Chuck Norris’ in jest. To the Test match where on this same venue Australia and South Africa beat Sri Lanka not so long ago, the wicket has taken a complete change for the better and what was great was that it helped produce a result in favor of the team that played the better and positive cricket - Sri Lanka.

It is wickets such as this where results are achieved that bring spectators flocking to Test venues which have gone dry in recent times due to the drab cricket that was being played. Even the results in the England- India series have been encouraging which is good for the game.

And for curator Jayananda Warnaweera he can, justifiably, take a bow. In fact Kumar Sangakkara after the end of play media meeting commended Warnaweera saying that even with the rains that prevailed that would have made his job tough, yet he did a great job in producing a result-oriented wicket.

Sentiments from Sangakkara

These sentiments coming from Sangakkara should inspire and spur Warnaweera to produce wickets similar to the ones he produced against the South Africans and now Pakistan. South Africa beat Sri Lanka and now Sri Lanka beat Pakistan.

Pakistan came here full of hopes with Captain Misbah Ul-Haq promising to play cricket that will take them to the top again. But that was just a hollow hope as the thrashing by 7 wickets in the First of Two Tests show. It’s not often that a team scoring over 400 runs in a Test loses a match. But it did to Pakistan which only proves that they are a mediocre side with no game plan, Captaincy not up to the mark and generally poor all round play. After the defeat as usual former Pakistan greats did not spare the captain and the team. That is nothing unusual. Those are the vicissitudes that Captains and players have to face. When they win they become heroes and to lose means to be brought to zeroes. Their former greats too suffered this ignominy.

After batting positively in the first innings and making 451 it was inexplicable the negative approach in the second visit. There was nothing wrong with the wicket. The timely declaration by Mathews giving the Pakistanis a few overs batting on the penultimate evening that cooked the Pakistani goose. The Pakistani cricketers were sad sacks.

Pakistan gets the jitters

The losing of opener Khurram Manzoor just before the close seemed to have given them the jitters and they continued that way on the final day with batsmen running scared against the wiles of left arm spinner Rangana Herath and collapsing in a heap. With this defeat there is no doubt that Misbah Ul-Haq’s reign as

Captain will be queried and debated. 40 plus, he is the oldest cricketer still in action and a cry will start for his removal. He feels that it is time that Misbah calls it a day. He has had his highs and served the game and country as one the best batsmen in world cricket and was also one of the best captain’s to come out of Pakistan cricket and he must go when they are asking why and why not?

Then the manner in which veteran batsman who made a big 177 in the first innings Younis Khan was bowled through the gate by Herath. He could not spot the arm ball from Herath and playing for the spin that was not there was bowled through the ‘gate’ in cricketing parlance. It was poor technique.

In the gloom and the calamity that was the capitulating of the Pakistanis, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayewardene, Rangana Herath and Angelo Mathews were the shining lights for Sri Lanka. Sangakkara went past West Indian legend Brian Lara and got second to the great Sir Donald Bradman and when questioned graciously said that everyone is second to the Don.

Mathews reveling in captaincy

Angelo Mathews with the burden of captaincy thrust on him seems to be reveling in it. From his first stint as captain he has got his willow to do the talking and his leadership too is growing in stature and shows signs of being the best ever Captain all rounder the country or the world has produced. Promoting himself in the batting order has done his game a world of good.

Leftie Rangana Herath is having a ball with the ball. His clever and varied deliveries have had all batsmen in trouble and it was no different with the hapless Pakistani batsmen who like the South

Africans in the second innings are showing no footwork to leave the crease and counter him. It leaves a question mark on the batting coach.

The credentials of the Pakistani coach who is having a second stint Waqar Younis did not have a memorable first outing second time round and must be under the microscope of the discerning and merciless former Pakistani greats who if Pakistan continues to lose will ask that his neck be put on the block.

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