Time for Mathews to follow sleepwalking and reach for the stars
View(s):Only our sleepwalking cricketers seem to excel at rarefied heights. The other lot has once again shown that they cannot take the piss on the opposition at crunch time. And the worst part is that in recent times, the opposition mostly has been India.Twice in the space of less than a month, our bossy neighbours have inflicted pain on the national psyche with a kick in our nether regions where it hurts most of all.
Exit at the hands of India at the ICC Champion’s Trophy in the semi-finals at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff was followed three weeks later by swallowing another bitter pill of defeat at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, and this time in the final of the triangular series including hosts West Indies.
It is no solace that we lost the last encounter by one wicket and in the last over. Losing by large or small margins is still losing. A few years down the line, if anyone remembers this tournament, what will matter is that we lost it.
One man, perhaps, was the difference between the two sides in the final reckoning – MS Dhoni who coolly swatted 15 runs off Shaminda Eranga, a six, four and a six off successive deliveries to see India overhaul the target of 201 with two balls to spare.
The Indian captain unabashedly said afterwards: “I think I am blessed with a good cricketing sense”. Amen to that. Not only does he have that attribute, but he also has confidence in his own game and the ability to back his words with deeds on the field.
His counterpart Angelo Mathews, meanwhile, is going through a rough patch with the bat. Let’s hope he can live up to the adage that ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’.
Mathews has shown signs of class. He has to bring it to fruition. Apart from one brief knock (44 off 29 balls), early in the tournament, and that too with no pressure on his shoulders thanks to a superb double-century opening stand between Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga, Mathews has continued to struggle at the crease.
If he can get his touch back with the bat, it will undoubtedly help invigorate his captaincy too, an aspect which he seems to be grappling with presently and having to rely on the seniors in the team. It is good to have all that experience around him, but sometimes it can be a dead-weight
Mathews has to make the bold step and cut himself adrift off all the past baggage and set his own course, learning from his mistakes. Yes, rely on the Jayawardenes and the Sangakkaras if you want, but at the end of the day, he must make the decisions.And the decision not to bowl the final over himself, or save Lasith Malinga for that, was a poor one. Eranga began well enough, but to hand him the responsibility of bowling the final over against a batsman who personifies cool was asking for too much.Once Dhoni smacked him for six off the second ball of the over, you could see the self-belief almost drain away from Eranga’s face. Mathews should have taken on that responsibility, or even better saved Malinga until the bitter end.
Dhoni later revealed that India’s cause had been helped by Eranga bowling that fateful last over. Captain cool said: “He was not the most experienced in that last over unlike Malinga, so I thought I would take my chances. I went with a heavy bat and the weight of the bat was perfect for slogging.”
And Dhoni superbly played on Eranga’s frayed nerves when he called for new bats to be brought out testing them out. That alone must have stretched Eranga to breaking point, the sight of Dhoni deciding which bludgeon to use.
We will never know if Mathews or Malinga might have been able to subdue Dhoni. What we know is that our young guns are misfiring. Mathews aside, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne to some extent, haven’t fully proven they are capable of carrying the load for the next decade or so.
We are still relying on our veterans to pull us through. And thanks mainly to Sangakkara and Jayawardene, Sri Lanka has managed to sticky-plaster its way through to the business end of tournaments. But for how much longer can we keep relying on these old hands?
Old can be gold, but there will come a point when we have to realise that they cannot carry the burden forever. Our selectors must also play a role. But they continue to vacillate. The decision to bring back Dilhara Fernando back into contention smacks of short-sightedness.Fernando is 34. He was picked for the selection trial to name the squad for the One-Day series against South Africa – which one witty headline labelled as the ‘battle of the chokers’.
If the next couple of years, starting this week, are all about setting your sights on the 2015 World Cup, then the move to put Fernando in the frame is myopic.
We surely have enough young talent to fill Fernando’s shoes. For instance what has happened to Thisara Perera, who was not even in the equation in the Caribbean? He would have been a better bet than say a Jeevan Mendis.
The best move would be to use the visit by the South Africans to blood fresh talent. We all know what Sangakkara and Jayawardene and company can do. It would be better to give them a break and try out young talent for there is nothing riding on this series.
It would be better put to use to nurture the young guns. It can also give Mathews the opportunity to steer his own course.
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