School cricket on the road to ruin

by Ranjan Anandappa

Former Sri Lanka Test wicket keeper and the present junior national selector Gamini Wickremasinghe slammed the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association for not giving the Under 19 cricketers enough tough exposure and only sticking to the 'representing-the-school-first-concept' rather than playing them in the Premier club cricket tournaments which could definitely help improve their skills while playing at international level like the Under-19 World Cup.

Gamini Wickremasinghe

He further said that playing in the school circuit alone against weak opposition and scoring runs or taking wickets will not take Sri Lanka Cricket to higher levels.

"For instance take India. In their present under-19 team they have at least six or seven players who have played in the Ranji Trophy the biggest tournament in India and some are even playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) which make them a cut above the others. In Sri Lanka the talent is no doubt there but the exposure is inadequate as most of the other countries have exposed their young players at the highest level", said Wickremasinghe.

At one stage Sri Lanka had players who had walked into the national team while at school. Anura Tennekoon, Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva and Asanka Gurusinha are some of the players who represented the country while at school or soon after leaving school among the many. There was an era where a combined School XI was pitted against the strong teams in domestic tournaments.

The Robert Senanayake Trophy tournament was one of those. That tournament which took place prior to Sri Lanka gaining full Test status gave the opportunity for talented schoolboys to successfully display their cricketing prowess. The teams were extremely strong with a star studded Mercantile Cricket Association XI, Nationalised Services CA, State Services, Defence Services and a Rest X1 which gave opportunities for more players who did not belong to any establishment. Once upon a time Sri Lanka's school cricket structure was classed as the best, but it cannot be categorised in the same vein today. In countries like Australia and India talented players are straightaway thrown to the deep end so that they could compete with top State players.

The young players come under the guidance of a senior retired Test player so that he could impart his knowledge and experience to the youngsters..

The present Indian under 19 team is coached by former Indian captain Rahul Dravid and no wonder the boys seem to be on top of the world.

The former England batsman Greame Hick who was the Australian junior coach while in Sri Lanka last year remarked that the Aussie schoolboys mostly play with top Shefield Shield players which make them strong and more competitive.

The contention now is that in the drastically changing world of cricket Sri Lanka too should adopt new strategies with the norms of modern day cricket by exposing more of the youngsters to take part in tough competition if they are to make any significant impact while performing at higher levels.