Winds of change in post-Sanga-Mahela era
View(s):Cricket is a beautiful game and we need to take care of it. While listening to that perennial Scorpion hit song “Wind of Change” those words crept through my mind.
It all began at the Premadasa Stadium, when Kumar Sangakkara held that catch to complete an eventful 5-2 series win over the English cricketers. To make matters more significant, the catch was held off the bowling of less-than-part-time off spinner Mahela Jayawardena operating for the last time in an international on his home soil.
After the game, when the two cricketers were bidding farewell to the Lankan crowd – who stayed back a long time more after the match, reality slowly began to sink into me. In reality this would be the last occasion that we would see these two greats on the green baize of Lankan cricket – or for that matter in international cricket together again. Even if Sangakkara plays a few more Test matches, it would be with a Mahelaless XI.
So the winds of change have hit the Lankan shores in reality.
Yes, there were some soothing words heard at the post-match news conference when T.M. Dilshan said he had intended to hang around for a while more. Right now, Sri Lanka cricket needs Dilshan more than Dilshan needs Sri Lanka cricket.
Reality would really dawn upon Lankan cricket in June-July next year when Pakistan arrive in the island for two Test matches, five ODIs and two T-20s.
For the England tour, in spite of the tour being very important on two counts, there were certain strategies to be enacted. The first priority was preparing for the 2015 World Cup and the second was erasing the memories of that SLC blunder of a hasty Indian tour (if one opts to describe it so), taking the team back into its winning ways and making a habit of it. Hats off to the selectors who have accomplished the task while revolving a seven match series between fifteen players! One wonders why? May be, you have already arrived at your own conclusion.
Pix by Amila Gamage
Back to the winds of change episode: The selectors have named quite a futuristic squad for the Test leg of the New Zealand tour. There are some players who could become household names within the next few full moons.
Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews who has been hailed as one of the best in the business today, positively usurped the expertise of his peers Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara when it was available (and still is – for the time being). Yet, within a short span he too developed his own cool headed fashion of captaining an international side and this aspect of him did impress some of the hardened English professionals while they were in Sri Lanka.
Mathews is a complete cricketer in general. The difference between him and an average cricketer is his readiness to take up challenges and dive and thrive in that situation.
When Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal were failing he knew that it was he who had to play the Captain Cool role — and he was ready for it. He donned his pads and faced the opposition with every bit of courage of a true professional. He thrived in this situation – his batting records are ample testimony to that. I believe that Mathews’ portrait in the middle pushed Thirimanne and Chandimal to pull up their socks and get back into the act.
In the post Mahela-Sanga Lankan cricket, the onus on these three cricketers is going to be huge. However, for Thirimanne and Chandimal it would have to be reverse psychology. Unlike Mathews, they would have to understand the gravity of the situation. From June 2015, they would be the playmakers. Like the nation waited for Sangakkara and Mahela to deliver the goods, they would wait for the Thiri-Chandi duo to deliver the goods. It’s not dropping them in the deep end, but, leaving the pool in their charge. Well they have swum enough in the shadows of Mahela, Sanga and Thilan Samaraweera in this pool, much more than other contenders such as Ashan Priyanjan and Kithruwan Vithanage.
In Test cricket, where Dilshan has rested, Kaushal Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne have settled in — and at one point when Karunaratne was dropped to make experiments with Upul Tharanga, we were of the view that Sanath and company were playing too much to the gallery. With still Sangakkara at No 3 the middle look somewhat the same till it comes to the middle especially in the shorter forms of the game. Already, there is a tussle between Thisara Perera, Jeewan Mendis and Seekuge Prasanna and in the last ODI – all three played together in a match dominated by spinners. Thisara who bowled three overs for an expensive 22 runs with his medium pace in that game, vindicated his selection with a beefy half century. But, come June 2015, Perera’s role in the set up would grow more important in all forms of the game and he’d better prepare for that challenge ahead.
In the spin department thanks to the ICC, off spinner Sachithra Senanayake made a miracle comeback and is bowling with much confidence. Yet, Senanayake essentially is a limited overs bowler.
The Lankans coaching circles have always believed that off spinner P.H.T. Kaushal is Sri Lanka’s continuation from the Herath era. At almost 37, Herath still keeps delivering the goods — but for how long? Insiders believe that Kaushal though a bit expensive at present in spite of his wicket-taking abilities should be pursued with, so that he could learn to perfect his trade while he is at it.
Sadly there is no other spinner who has proved that they could sustain themselves at international level other than Herath, Senanayake and Kaushal.
During a light chat once, the Lankan fast bowling coach, Champaka Ramanayake, told me that the Lankan fast bowlers were a lot more fragile structurally than their European, Australian, South African and Pakistani counterparts. So, to keep them in shape it would be prudent for them to use those fast men in short bursts rather than tiresome long hauls. He said that would keep them away from injuries as well as help them sustain their speed to international requirements.
It was very encouraging to see the comeback of seamer Suranga Lakmal who bowled more than impressively in the few games he played against England. Lakmal is a heady bowler who has the knack of out-thinking a batsman. Once he saddles up with Lasith Malinga during the latter half of the New Zealand tour, the Lankan bowling woes ease off to a great extent.
They are also quite impressed with the selection of 22-year-old Dushmantha Chameera, a lad who can reach the 140+ mark. These are the lads that the Lankan cricket would like to meet in the post-Mahela-Sanga era. Cricket is a beautiful game and we need these young lads to usher in the winds of change.