Lankans have to think of Test aspect
View(s):Sri Lanka end Aussie adventure with pride intact
By Trevine Rodrigo from Melbourne
Sri Lanka flew back home from an Australian adventure, which yielded a mixed bag, but the outcome clearly suggested that they are out of synch with the most traditional format of the game: Test cricket.
Thrashed 3-0 in the Tests, Sri Lanka bounced back to nail the Aussies in the shorter versions of the game, which they are renowned for; held 2-2 in the One Dayers before confounding the Aussies 2-0 in the two T20s to return home with a degree of satisfaction.
However, the analysis from the wash up of their tour appears to suggest the country of many talented cricketers is clearly a victim of the riches of the T20 circus, which has killed the temperament of their emerging flock who do not seem to have the grounding or skill for a longer stay at the wicket.
Sri Lankans were out of synch in the Tests against Australia
I have been a vociferous critic of the maybe more attractive and shorter version of the game for the reason mentioned. And I know for certain I have many former cricketing greats in my corner on this subject, mainly former Sri Lanka Skipper and World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who once referred to T20 cricket as, “Something resembling two-minute noodles, bang, bang and it’s gone,” he once said.
But let’s face it, our strong feelings and thoughts on the revolutionary aspect of the game will in no way sway the cricketers, who view the various T20 tournaments around the world as a godsend which secures them and their families a life of luxury after cricket.
Try telling Lasith Malinga, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thisara Perera and some of the others that they have got their priorities wrong and you would quite rightly get laughed at for being naive.
Even the hard-hearted Australians are now casting aside their ‘loyalty to country’ attitude in favour of IPL riches given that they no longer have guaranteed spots on the national team after the rotational policy was enforced to its limit this summer.
Most teams who have been demoralised in the opening games on tour to Australia usually crumble and leave in despair and disarray. But the infusion of its stars from the KFC Big Bash injected a new-found venom in the Sri Lankans as they went on to crunch the Aussies in the shorter form of the game, and in fact the popular belief is that they would have won the one-day series as well if the umpires had not deemed a venue unfit for play after rain, during one of the matches. Two bad decisions against Australia that would have had them crucified by the media here if they had lost, may have been one of the reasons they refused to let play continue, many fans felt.
Sri Lanka’s senior group of Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillekeratne Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera came to Australia chasing a dream of winning at least one Test here, a feat they have not achieved in all the years they have played the game. But sadly it was not to be, mainly because their mindset is no more fully tuned in to the traditional format of the game. As much as they will refute my claim about this, it is a proven fact if you review their approach in the three Tests where they only got close to competing once, while being comprehensively outplayed in the other two by the more adept Australians.
This brings into play the new wave of thinking, which calls for horses for courses and accordingly, teams around the globe are quickly mapping out specialist teams and strategies to meet the requirements of the three formats. This was very much in evidence when Sri Lanka and Australia did battle in the 50-over and T20 formats where it was quite evident that the approaches were in stark contrast to each other despite being in the limited over category.
Michael Clarke’s Australians will look back on this summer with smug satisfaction with the knowledge that Test cricket is in good hands with more challenging opponents looming in India and the all important Ashes tour against archenemy England to follow.
What has also been heartening to Australia is the abundance of talent that has been emerging recently in all formats of the game, which augurs well for their future unlike many other countries who are scratching the bottom of the barrel to come up with players who are good enough to stand up to the best in the game.
With the impending departures of Jayawardene, Sangakkara, Dilshan and Co. just around the corner, Sri Lanka have been fortunate to unearth players of the calibre of Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne and Akila Dhananjaya who will be the backbone of the team in the years to come. Together with new skipper, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Jeewan Mendis, Ajantha Mendis and Suraj Randiv there is a formidable lineup waiting to take on the world.
Sri Lanka’s South African coach Graham Ford has so far waded through the murky waters of political interference with aplomb but his real challenge is yet to come since the revamped Sri Lankan Selection Committee, headed by former hero Sanath Jayasuriya, was announced recently.
Cricket fans of Sri Lanka around the world are hoping that the little steps the country has taken recently to win respect will not be undone due to petty personal differences of the new head honcho, who is perceived to have some old scores to settle with some of his former captains and current senior players in the squad who are literally holding the team together.
It will be back to square one if the new selection committee has been installed for the wrong reasons. Let’s pray it is not the case.
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