Sri Lankans go to the wrong party
Team manager’s New Zealand tour report to clean-sheet
‘misbehaving’ players as Minister Jayasekera waits to learn he jumped
the gun:
by Callistus Davy
Sri Lanka’s cricketers may find it easy to laugh off accusations of
all-night partying, but failing to comprehensively take on their host on
the field of play on the concluded tour of New Zealand will be another
kind of revelry they’ll find hard to answer for while their manager
prepares to submit his report and an audacious Sports Minister waits to
learn if he was right or wrong in branding the players “scandalous” in
conduct.
Angelo Mathews (right) has a word with coach Jerome
Jayaratne as the two men came together to meet the Press
after returning from New Zealand quite in contrast to a
charge made by Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera that they
squabbled on tour (Picture by Rukmal Gamage) |
Contrary to Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera’s accusation that the
cricketers misbehaved, the customary Report of the team manager is
unlikely to contain any references to players partying at late night
frolics, the Sunday Observer learns.
“There was scandalous behavior. They (players) have not only attended
drinking parties till three and four (am) in the morning, but there was
a lot of tension and friction among members.
My main concern is the breakdown in discipline. When that is affected
the team naturally performs badly”, Minister Jayasekera told the media
early this week as the team returned after a pummelling in the Test, ODI
and T20 series.
But team manager Gerry Woutersz facing his first media barrage was
tight-lipped with a firm declaration that his Report will not lie.
“I will submit my report”, Woutersz said apparently avoiding any
public confrontation with Minister Jayasekera.
The Sunday Observer learns that apart from the usual dinners that
players attended, Woutersz’ tour report will have no recorded cases of
team members violating disciplinary requirements to the point that
Minister Jayasekera had made out. For coach Jerome Jayaratne,
unpreparedness and not partying, will be the reason why his team failed
to match up to the Kiwis who won seven of the eight contests in all
three formats of the game during the series.
“Some players (on tour) were not established. We have to discuss this
with the (team) selectors on how to build a team and move forward from
here”, said Jayaratne.
Unlike on previous tours of New Zealand, the Sri Lankan team,
according to Jayaratne, had seen a devastating difference between them
and the host players who revelled in every aspect and never looked out
of place.
“We might have to look at other players (in Sri Lanka)”, said
Jayaratne. “Players must first learn to finish (win) a match at club
level and be prepared before they can do it at international level”,
said Jayaratne. He may go back to his post as coach of the National
Academy or take the players to the T20 World Cup in India in March, but
very few glasses will be raised to toast the Sri Lanka team when they
move in to defend the title, a less glamorous side from the celebratory
one two years ago. |