Taking count – into the future
Ruwanweliseya was built by the ancient people of this country and it is still venerated by most of us even today, but, that was not the end of an era; life meandered and still goes on. Likewise the end of the Mahela/Sangakkara era should be another semi-colon, and cricket in Sri Lanka should flow along as it always did – gathering momentum and getting stronger – and it ultimately would.
It is unclear how the Sri Lanka team will look like sans the performing seniors - File pix
Yes, at the 2015 version of the IC Cricket World Cup the Lankans ended up in the last eight and lost but, if we are going to put all that blame only on the fitness of the players or some other superfluous flowery excuse, it is only us fooling ourselves.
When I met that cricket insider at the Hobart Airport as usual I kept on asking a few questions and he replied to me with a hint of annoyance in his eye — “This is the best lot we got. We have to manage with this, but, even in the past we have gone far with these limited resources. We cannot say that we have anyone better at home, after the injuries those who were left also were flown over and this is the best, from this point it is only the quarter-finals and the fact is it is sudden death, you cannot afford to have an off day”. That is exactly what happened.
I still do not hold it against the Lankan cricketers for having that bad day. The South Africans who beat Sri Lanka at that contest, also had a bad
It won’t be long when the world will miss the innovator of the famous Dilscoop
day, but luckily it was during the first round against India. Yet, even it is bitter, we must admit, that there was a marked difference between, the cricket played by Australia, South Africa and New Zealand and the rest of the teams. Some may suggest the name of India, but, the Indians were exposed in all departments of their game against Australia – they were just no match.
Nevertheless it is the Lankan angle that we have to really delve into. In reality, the Lankans chips weighed even lighter than the Indian. In the batting department, the Lankan senior batters rowed the boat and in most occasions and were faster and more precise than the Indians, but, the superiority stops there.
The end of an era: Mahela and Sanga will not be a part of the Lankan ODI outfit anymore
Though the tournament – their two pace bowlers Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and even Mohit Sharma to a lesser extent bowled at a lively pace and kept the ball in the right areas and they got wickets. Likewise off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin too bowled well through the tournament, including their lost effort against Australia. Besides another noteworthy feature in the semi-final effort was the Indian fielding. At one point of time, the Lankan fielding was the best in Asia, but today, it is a creepy experience just to watch them fielding. Sometimes you scream out in utter despair – on occasions it is even below par.
We will begin at that point. The Lankans missed catches, from the day they set foot on New Zealand soil. At one point the insider told me “Even in the Test matches we would have done better if not for that missed catch that turned the game on its head and we turned a Test match that we could have to a lost cause”. It was a tale of woes.
The Lankan hierarchy grumbled fielding was bad and got rid of Ruwan Kalpage during their preparations
Thisara Perera was not up to his standard
for the World Cup. But, with replacement fielding coach Trevor Penny who also acts as the assistant coach, was there an improvement – the answer is no.
Aging Herath is always burden on the field and it is well known fact, but the truth remains. Both – Lasith Malinga and Suranga Lakmal – were nursing injuries, would they go one-hundred percent to the ball to save it and prevent a stoppable boundary? No. Kusal Janith Perera is a poor fielder but, did he place special attention to that lacking of his game at the top end of cricket while he was dropped from the national squad – No. In the match against Australia Upul Tharanga was seen wandering around, which means he too had not put emphasis into that aspect of the game.
About twenty percent of Sri Lanka’s poor show at this tournament could be placed directly upon Thisara Perera. He failed in every aspect, when he is supposed to be the best all-rounder that Sri Lanka has. However the reports are that he is not focused. His real problems lie beyond the boundary lines and right at this moment his priorities are different. Then, if there is an iota of truth into this allegation it should be taken seriously. He is one man who could play a pivotal role in the post Sanga/Mahela episode, but, in the present context he may even be a bad influence. So, this is a case that should be handled with extreme caution and care and try to bring him back into the main stream of cricket that he is used to be associated with.
In bowling the gamble that the selectors took with Sachitra Senanayake backfired on the unresponsive wickets in New Zealand and then by the time he took over the mantle from injured Herath, after he was dropped for a while it had taken whatever the rhythm he had. One wonders whether it would have been prudent if the selectors persisted with off spinner P.H.T. Kaushal even after the New Zealand Tests. Given him the same exposure that Muralitharan had when he was just a lad learning a job while at it. Even Muralitharan was not an out and out match winner when he began, but gradually he converted himself into one, because his captain believed in him, the selectors believed in him and he was made to understand so.
Pace bowling is Sri Lanka’s waterloo. Sri Lanka cannot produce fast bowler with endurance. The reason being our tournament structure does encourage fast bowling. In the present context both Lasith Malinga and Suranga Lakmal – Sri Lanka’s two main strike bowlers played while nursing injuries. Was that the ideal situation to come into a World Cup? Could have they gone one hundred per cent in any of the games? Then the bulk of the rest of the fast bowlers — Dhammika Prasad, Shaminda Eranga and Nuwan Pradeep are also nursing injuries or just recovering from injuries. This leaves, Nuwan Kulasekera and Lahiru Gamage and Dushmantha Chameera who has been exposed to the highest level of cricket. Not a conducive situation at all.
In batting the biggest mistake that the selectors made during the tournament was the preference of Jeewan Mendis over Dinesh Chandimal. In the last five innings Chandimal had two unbeaten fifties and three scores of under ten, but his class is always better than that of Jeewan Mendis. In 95 ODIs Chandimal has an average of 29.83 and a Test average of 44.08 in fifteen. Mendis also has played 54 ODIs and has a batting average of 20.13.
At the end of the tournament it was veteran T.M. Dilshan who came up as the world’s best all-rounder. When we have him one wonders why waste time on half breeds like Thisara and Jeewan who does not produce a good performance either with the bat or ball.Now it is up to batsmen like Chandimal and Thirimanne to rally round skipper Angelo Mathews and take the Lankan cricket into the post Sanga/Mahela Avenue. Yes, for the time being T.M. Dilshan is there in limited overs cricket and Kumar Sangakkara is there at least for the time being in Test cricket. But, now the selectors must gradually shift the onus to these batsmen and give them authority to decide Sri Lanka’s batting future while the coaches resolve the Lankan bowling and fielding woes.