Excellence in the area of fielding
View(s):“Our national teams and all other representative teams have generally made us proud when it comes to fielding and we have earned a reputation of being one of the foremost fielding teams in the world. It has been hard work but the results have been very rewarding,” said Jerome Jayaratne the Head of Coaching for Sri Lanka Cricket.
“A culture of being an outstanding fielder embraces every youngster. When he is recognized and brought into the development and training squads, he works tirelessly on developing his skills with our specialist fielding coaches Manoj Abeywickrema, Nuwan Seneviratne, Upul Chandana and Ruwan Kalpage, who are doing a great job. These coaches are taxed to the hilt.” added Jerome.
Mahela Jayawardene is an excellent fielder at slips
The Coaching and Cricket Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket has embarked on a very ambitious programme to uplift the general standards of fielding in all parts of the country, particularly in schools to a level much above average. They have drawn up courses for fitness trainers and specialist fielding coaches that are expected to go hand in hand. This would ensure that there will be plenty of resources to meet the needs of the schools and clubs in the outstations to work scientifically on these aspects
Ranjit Fernando, whose passion is to see that a culture is created to make Sri Lanka the best in fielding at all levels, and for youngsters to take pride in that fact, is determined to see that this goal is quickly achieved. He said, “With the Twenty20 game growing in popularity, fielding standards all over the world have improved rapidly and when you see the brilliance displayed by most teams, you don’t want to be left behind. The intention now is to introduce a much higher degree of specialization to fielding from the younger age. The techniques and skills will be developed to a greater extent by the time the boys from any part of the island join the first class ranks.
This course has been designed by the specialist fielding coaching team of Sri Lanka Cricket with the guidance of Ruwan Kalpage, who is in charge of the national squad fielding and they too are very excited about it. They have used all their experience and created specific training drills and tips for all specialized positions such as cover point, slip, gully, mid-field positions, outfield, short leg and silly point. A special course for wicketkeepers will follow.
The course is targeted at the practicing school and club coaches, and any cricketer who would be interested in the specialisation. Any Old Boy cricketer of a school can do the intensive one-day course and learn the fundamentals and could go along and take charge of the fielding of his school.
“All fielding coaches start at the bottom, learning and gaining experience on the job, and what an opportunity this would be, because there is such great demand for it. You can also do the job part-time, visiting the coaching session for a shorter period,” added the head of coaching who is driving the programme.
Mario Villvarayen and Arjan Nalliah of the Fitness Training Department, with their formal education and wide exposure to fitness aspects, have been busy putting together the cricket fitness course which will not only be a prerequisite to enhance fielding standards but also all other segments of cricket. The basic knowledge that would be passed down to the schools and clubs will be invaluable and will see far fitter cricketers, who are able to handle the workload better, coming through the ranks.
It is again a course for the coaches and all others interested in undertaking fitness aspects. There is tremendous scope for trainers today. With a culture of fitness spreading all over the world, Sri Lanka is no exception. A course like this would be a steppingstone for youngsters to embark on a career in this field and also get motivated to study the subject in depth. With gyms being established all over the country even in the smaller towns, opportunities are most promising, not forgetting the need for personal trainers. “We are very excited about the programme and waiting to get started,” said Arjan Nalliah.
The Coach Education Department of Sri Lanka Cricket is producing handouts which the coach trainees could take away and make quick references to when working.
“We have produced fielding greats like Hector Perera, Lasantha Rodrigo, Anura Tennekoon, David Heyn in the pre-test (era), and afterwards world-renowned fielders of the calibre of Roshan Mahanama, Sanath Jayasuriya, Hashan Tillekeratne, Asanka Gurusinha. Aravinda de Silva and Muttiah Muralitharan (before their injuries), T.M. Dilshan, Upul Chandana, Mahela Jayawardena but I am confident that there are going to be a lot more, and more importantly the teams as a whole, in the years to come,” were Jayaratne’s parting words
Then, Upul Chandana the Under 19 squad fielding specialist explained, “This without any doubt will bring about a huge level of confidence and enjoyment into fielding. After all, if you don’t score runs or take wickets, you still have to spend time on the field and if you are not a good fielder it can be miserable. On the other hand, if you are competent and confident where you wish that every ball comes in your direction, what joy it gives.”Two hundred catches in ODI cricket, Mahela Jayawardena has set up special niche in world cricket. – SRP
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