Spotlight

Time for cricket to prevail over money

by Srian OBEYESEKERE

In an era that our cricketers have bathed themselves more with the fad of marketing commercialism where the big dollars seem to be the main stake, the fact that Sri Lanka’s one-day cricket status has sagged to rag doll level at home is a blot. Mahela Jayawardene and his charges have found themselves licking the wounds of their third successive home series defeat, against England - 2-3 followed by 2-3 at the hands of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team in 2008 and this year’s 4-1 hounding. This is not at all good reading for a nation that has basked in a golden aura of the biff bang game and being one of the elite countries to have won one-day cricket’s beacon - the world cup in 1996 that set a platform for other countries to follow at that level.

This dirty taste must with it take us to the euphoric Arjuna Ranatunga era when Sri Lanka shone majestically with a team of eleven magnificent men who not only tamed the might of the world like breaking the Australian invincibility, but also enveloping the game with improvision in giving new muscle to ODI batting in Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana’s over the top stuff. That the Ranatunga juggernaut rolled on in a dynasty of its own dictating cricket at that level to the likes of Australia and South Africa conspicuously sans the talent basin and advanced technology that is available to today’s Sri Lanka Jayawardene led team by itself is a glorification of Ranatuga’s vast accumen with which he commanded his team.

Today, the team enjoys the huge luxury of several tried and tested pace bowlers unlike when Ranatunga captained when he purely depended of Chaminda Vaas and Pramodya Wickramasinghe while in the batting we have traversed just over a decade since Ranatunga’s days but have failed to harness a fair share of latent talent that has flowed from a fully blossomed `A’ team unlike 10 years ago.

This comparison analytically must expose the cricket played today where like in the case of the gold mad rush for the IPL big money commercialism cricket seems to have replaced the word cricket when strikingly in 1981 soon after Sri Lanka gained Test status cricketers of that era walked or travelled by bus to play and catch the eyes of the selectors to get into the national team. Those were the days when value for players was playing for their country when the sweat and blood of sheer hard work only could get them there. And strikingly, in that not so cricket rich era Sri Lanka produced cricketers of some standing straight from school as always argued by Ranatunga. Some of the best examples of that lot are Ranatunga himself, Duleep Mendis, Roy Dias, Rumesh Ratnayake, Anura Ranasinghe with the debut Test 50 by young Ranatunga against England in Sri Lanka’s first ever Test match still vivid in memory for its Garfield type class of the great cricket leader that he was to be.

Sadly or tragi comically roller skating in a commercial world that has eaten into cricket seems to have devalued the meaning of cricket here. As noted by the chief selector Asantha de Mel the so sacrosant fielding drills that is the hallmark of a one-day team has now become a thing of the past While none would grudge our cricketers finding the commercial rewards from their latent talent its sophistication to snowballing out of proportion to an immersion could be like over eating which must raise the question whether this should be governed by a State ceiling when one considers the poorest of the poor.

Still comparatively, Ranatunga’s champion team had the type of batsmen who delivered with the bat. From Jayasuriya, Kaluwitharana to Gurusinha, Aravinda de Silva and Ranatunga with Hashan Tillekeratne rock solid at No.6, Kumar Dharmasena at 7 with Vaas to follow in a decoration that rarely saw the middle order catapult. In today’s side the alarming factor that must certainly be cause for concern for the national selectors is the fact that after Jayasuriya, the panther from the Ranatunga era still in the top slot, Dilshan, Sangakkara and Jayawardene, the rest is left so brittle. Glaringly, in Sri Lanka losing three ODI home series’ while Jayawardene had failed to get a half century in 13 ODIs before doing so in the second outing this time around against the Indians the middle order has been tooth shaky with the likes of Kapugedera, Maharoof and the sixth batsman that was first filled by Dilshan before Jayasuriya’s opening partner and next experiment Mubarak failing to give the solidness needed at no.6. The middle order factor must conspicuously be a certain drawback for a side that is still limping in the throes of building its next 2011 world cup team; something that should have well commenced after the 2007 world cup where there is an empty cupboard and an indictment of the cricket authorities and its expert coaching staff. While it is highly questionable why the likes of Kapugedera and Mubarak have been persisted with without success as of now the captain and cricket authorities have been found wanting in the build-up to the next world-cup which is indeed a very sorry state when by now Sri Lanka should have built around the 2007 world cup team a side that could seriously challenge reigning world champions Australia, South Africa and India to win another world cup after Ranatunga. In this context, since 1996 three world cups have gone by and it would be sad on our cricket if 12 years since Ranatunga’s team did it if Sri Lanka is unable to field a similar potential side for the 2011 showpiece, still significantly to be held in the sub-continent which would have given us islanders the best chance of repeating Ranatunga’s success.

The big question is whether our cricket juggernaut could meet that requirement in just over 2 years. For this the middle order needs to be plugged. In this respect, interestingly why has young allrounder, Angelo Mathews who struck a rescuing half century to see Sri Lanka home in the away series against Pakistan been kept under wraps after showing that much of promise. The team management needs to be able to shed its long cultivated system of going on seniority and making room for those who perform. Here, it is time they took a cue from Australia who do not hesitate to rush in young blood when they find an ace; a cue which the Indians have also taken of late which is one reason they have made such an impact. Take Rohit Sharma and Kapugedera. While comparatively Sharma has blossomed as a batsman who can hold an innings together, Kapugedera in more outings looks a non starter uncertain of his batting. That innings of Mathews was a plucky one where the youngster displayed defence and aggression clobbering a big six against Pakistan. In the bowling department, the Indian dominance of our bowlers is of some concern. While old horse Muttiah Muralidaran, who is now played by batsmen rather easier than in his hey day, still packs the variety to contain though concernedly losing his wicket taking consistency, Sri Lanka’s mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis, who has not been able to cast the type of magic spell he did on the Indians in Lahore in the Asia Cup final, must not be of much concern since he is still young and has the ability to further invent on his deliveries which he should do with the help of the available foreign expertise. The pace bowling department must be of some concern with the selectors losing faith in old horse Chaminda Vaas, who though conspicuous for his early breakthroughs, has taken beating in the final overs.

While there is a question mark as to retaining Vaas for another two years for the world cup considering his age other than Nuwan Kulasekera it must be asked whether the bowling coach after Champaka Ramanayake has done justice to his job.

Dilhara Fernando continues to be erratic, Thilina Thushara Mirando needs nursing while hope has to be put on the return of tearaway speedster Lasith Malinga in that he could insert the type of muscle that he once did with his square arm stuff that has undone so many world batsmen.

Since the debacle against India certainly the selectors and particularly Sri Lanka’s Australian born coach Trevor Baylis and his back up team of experts will need to take a good look at their charges and ensure that they earn their bucks. In this respect a key area the Sri Lankans seem lacking against the Indians has been fitness.

Thilina Kandamby as a newcomer looks too overweight and tends to waste a lot of deliveries. Not the ideal build up.

It certainly looks time that cricket began speaking over money.