Cricket’s negative vibes and Godfather
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All we are saying is give peace a chance. Pic by Amila Gamage
Now that Sri Lanka’s quest for the ICC Championship Trophy is over, I think, now is an opportune time to probe the Lankans’ performance and how one could reconcile with the final outcome.
Initially, I would like to pinch a few thoughts of a modern Lankan Cricket great, who, if he is of the opinion that the time is opportune, would speak his mind without hesitation and will mean what he says. He is not afraid to call a spade a shovel, if need be.
It was during the first session of Sri Lanka’s ICC-Championship Trophy game against India, and Sangakkara was in conversation with former England captain Michael Atherton. I was digesting every word that Sangakkara uttered.
Kumar was describing the eccentricities of modern day Lankan cricket, and how they have impacted the progress of the game.
He was describing the present Lankan game and the transformation of the post-Kumar-Mahela-Dilshan era, and the importance of having cohesion in its progress.
Initially, he described the importance of having a coach in the calibre of Graham Ford, who put little things like keeping things simple. Kumar stressed, “Once, Ford wanted us to describe ourselves in a sheet of paper. Many said many things but, Ford finally explained that he only wanted us to be simple. All what he did was drew a lineman and described, “This is how I like to see you, as plain and simple me, within ourselves.”
Visibly, Sangakkara did not like what was happening in the Lankan dressing room, in the present context. He expressed doubts about his country’s ability to uncover and nurture the next generation of star players. He said that 27-year-old Dinesh Chandimal, who has twelve international centuries, was one of the few young players who has blossomed. Chandimal’s talent is not in question, with the right-hander becoming the fourth Sri Lankan — after Sanath Jayasuriya, Sangakkara and Dilshan — to score five consecutive ODI half-centuries which he did last year. He also has eight Test tons to his name.
“The search has probably gone on a little too long,” Sangakkara told Atherton. “We’ve had two-and-a-half years of it now, looking for replacements for Dilshan, Mahela and me, and we have some fantastic young players coming through.”
One of Sangakkara’s concerns was that the Lankan cricket management has not groomed anyone to fill the voids created by the retired greats. “But I think that, one man who was identified very early was Dinesh Chandimal, who performed excellently in South Africa, then in England and in Australia. He’s actually had a period where he’s been identified as the best young player (and was) appointed captain, probably a bit too soon. Then he was dropped from the captaincy, and then from the team. So, he’s never had a consistent run in the position that he was identified for.
“I don’t think the environment he’s played in has been very good for his confidence. Every time he now takes the field, it’s almost as if (he’s) playing for his place, for survival, and that’s not a good place for a young player to be. But also, we have to re-look at a lot of the things that happen below international level — our first-class structure, our ‘A’ team structure — to make sure we actually drag those structures into the modern day.”
How can we disagree with a great who is still hitting the international headlines playing cricket, after his official international cricket ended here on Lankan soil. He is still a relentless run machine for English County Surrey.
Yet, our story does not end at this point. There is a lot that is going on about the postmortem of the Lankan debacle. Losing that crucial match against Pakistan was only a single phase of this episode. We are not concerned about who played what stroke. What we are bothered is how the thermometer behaves behind the curtain.
Just prior to the game against South Africa, we were bombarded with conflicting stories on the Lankan team composition. It said that Mathews might not play the first match against South Africa. Then, just before the game, we heard that Mathews would undergo a fitness test, and would only play as a batsman. Then, the story said that Mathews had passed the fitness test and would captain the side in the opening game. A few minutes later, all such claims were negated. Upul Tharanga walked out to toss with de Villiers.
Later, the same day, we learned that the original story was true, that Mathews was subjected to the fitness Test and was to play, but the selector’s chief intervened and declared that Mathews should not play.
Then, during the same match, someone decided to slow things down. This culminated in Sri Lanka anyhow losing the game but, in addition, Sri Lanka also losing the services of stand-in Captain Upul Tharanga for two matches.
Come the second game against India. It was a resounding and unlikely win for the young Sri Lankans. Yet, even in that win, there was bitterness within. The moment the Lankans registered their win, with Skipper Angelo Mathews at the crease, he became very demonstrative. His eyes said a lot. At one stage, he pointed his bat to the dressing room and then spelled out his name tag on his T-shirt. So, let us read between the lines and get the message across.
Yet, this is not the first occasion that the present system has attempted to crack the Mathews egg shell. Even during the South African tour, when Mathews flew back home with injury, the official version was something quite irrelevant.
I wonder, prior to the tournament, Sri Lanka Cricket Chief Thilanga Sumathipala escorted the Lankan tour squad, put them in white sarongs, including Angelo Mathews who is a Catholic and former fast bowler Alan Donald who is South African, to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy. The only person who happened to be in immaculate Test-match-white gear was Sumathipala. Yet, the prime motive of that exercise was to invoke blessings on the Lankan team who were embarking on a mission which, anyway, was going to be tough.
Why undermine the value of Angelo Mathews as Captain one may ask? Is Mathews less manipulative than Upul Tharanga? We ask that question because, by nature, Tharanga is laid back and quite certainly not captaincy material. If that is the case, the selector’s chief is trying to be manipulative and is even attempting to control what is happening beyond the boundary line.
So far, we have discussed about what happened to Chandimal and Mathews. I am more than certain that, these two are not happy and would say cheese at the drop of a hat even in the dressing room.
Prior to that, in the recent past, we killed Lahiru Thirimanne’s spirit. He was sent from hero to zero on reverse gear, at a speed of 350kmph. Now, he does not even attend practices in most cases, we learn.
Then it was Dhananjaya de Silva. At one point, he was the new kid on the block with nerves of steel. But, when he went into bat against Pakistan the other day, I only saw the shadow of a ghost ambling to the crease. No sooner he appeared, he disappeared.
It’s not rocket science that when the chemistry among the senior-most is diluted, it cascades right down to the bottom. No Nick Potha can teach them fielding because, the general levels of confidence, on and off the field, is almost negative, and then reaches low ebb under pressure.
We heard during the week, the SLC Vice President in charge of International Cricket — Jayantha Dharmadasa — offered to resign in the aftermath of the loss, yet he is very much on the official fold.
Epilogue: Yes, we do have talent in abundance. The batting during Sri Lanka’s match against India and the bowling during the match against Pakistan is ample testimony. Yet, the worrying factor is the Don Corleone factor. Godfather who is trying to control the gamut of Sri Lanka cricket. He does not like Charlie’s Angels or the Petrol Boys. When it comes to them, Godfather has bad dreams and any one having business with either party automatically become their foes.