“Art of Wielding the Willow”
View(s):Pakistan’s National Cricket XI has proved its supremacy in the “Art of Wielding the Willow”, to the entire sports world, by annexing the coveted ICC Championship Tournament held recently at Lords England. This could certainly prove to be an eye-opener to our National Cricket XI Skipper, Angelo Mathew, who had attributed their dismal performance against Pakistan recently, as a lapse on the part of his players in holding onto some vital and match-winning catches. This is not a reasonable excuse for their poor showing against Pakistan and losing the match. Of course, “Catches win matches” but, Angelo Mathew’s XI should bear in mind that, their players did not put up a formidable score for the opponents to chase. This was the main reason which contributed towards their debacle and ultimate defeat.
If Sri Lanka had put up a reasonable score of more than 300 (like Pakistan did against India), it would have been a difficult task for the opponents to achieve, and not just undermine the enthusiasm of his players for missed catches as their downfall.
The Pakistanis, with their new outfit team of freshers and youngsters, will certainly prove to the sporting world they are a team to be reckoned with in future Tests and ODIs.
Our Cricket selectors should also consider the possibility of infusing some fresh blood into our National side, by introducing some members from outstation schools belonging to various other communities too, and not confine their selections to one particular community. This is the only way this most popular game could be improved.
Rowan Aniff Kotahena