'New blood has done wonders'

By Ruhanie Perera and Laila Nasry

"Oh, what a magnificent shot by little Kalu!" "Well bowled Chaminda Vaas." Sounds familiar? Be it at an office, market place or tuition class, come match time and all you would hear is cricket commentaries. Yes, most of us are caught up in the game that has brought us much joy and heartbreak. Our greatest joy was winning the World Cup and since then cricket has assumed an important place in the lives of our people. As a nation we adore our cricket, revere our cricketers as national heroes and rejoice every time we win. When our team's fortunes fluctuated, feelings ran high and many were the opinions voiced. But once again the cricketers seem to be getting their act together-or are they? This is what the teens had to say about their feelings for the game.

Uthpala Kulasiri, (19):

I think we've now got better players and a better coach. I agree with the exclusion of Arjuna Ranatunga from the one-day team because he hasn't played well for quite some time. He also lacks fitness which is very important. On the other hand the youngsters in the team are absolutely brilliant and the team spirit is marvellous. The guys are playing as a team again.

My favourite cricketers are Sanath Jayasuriya and Russell Arnold. They are good, full of strokes and most importantly they score runs. I think South Africa will win the next World Cup. They are really good and they are the fittest team around.

Cham Wijeyagunesekare, (19):

I like sports and I enjoy watching cricket. I think our present squad is actually working as a team. The team effort shows. We needed a change and now we have it. New talent is coming up and this is good because foreign players don't know who they are up against.

Sri Lankans have a love for cricket which is amazing and which helps unite them. But they must learn to take both winning and losing in their stride.

I like Marvan Atapattu for his elegant strokeplay. Internationally, Wasim Akram is also a great bowler and captain. The next World Cup?-Hopefully, Sri Lanka will win. If they go on the way they are doing right now and keep their heads, well, I'll say we pretty much have a chance.

Suranjith Fonseka, (19):

The Sri Lankan cricket team is certainly doing better, now that the younger players have been included in the team. The senior players may have experience, but the new blood has done wonders for our team.

I also think this was a good move, because it is time we started preparing for the future. I feel that you can be selected only for as long as you deserve to be on the team. It's a sort of survival of the fittest concept.

Today cricket seems to be taking up most of our time and our life. When we won the World Cup it was only natural that we as a nation would be jubilant, but now we are getting a bit fanatical about the game. School kids cut school or people don't go to work on the days that a match is played. It's almost as if cricket has begun to control our lives and I personally don't think that should be the case.

I don't have any favourite cricketer as such, but Muralitharan is one of our best cricketers. I think that South Africa may win the next World Cup - they are a good team and they deserve to win.

Shara Canagasabey, (18):

I don't think we are fanatical about cricket. Our interest in the game is actually quite natural and it is our way of showing the team our support. And I think it's very important that we support our cricketers, irrespective of whether they win or lose. I'm sure during a match the cricketers are under enough pressure without having us adding to it. Besides, I think the Sri Lanka team has done reasonably well and that they have benefited by the inclusion of the youngsters. I know that years of experience matter but the younger players make up in talent for what they lack in years. Nothing is permanent, so the players need to be able to accept change, as long as all the decisions are taken in the best interest of the team.

As for the next World Cup, I sincerely hope that Sri Lanka will win - they do have potential and if they work hard it, I don't see why they can't.

Pubudu Sachithanandan, (19):

About the current cricket team, well, I'm glad that the 'all timers' are gone. They hung around too long, and when that happens the team stagnates and bad feeling sets in. I think it's very important that young players come in. Players like Naveed Nawaz are good, but don't get a chance. I think we should have started weeding out one or two years before the World Cup, then we would have had much better results.

I'm not a die-hard cricket fan but I watch when I get the chance-which is every competition not every match. Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene, and Muralitharan are in my opinion the best we've got in the team. They are classy players. I think Sri Lankans are passionate about their cricket and I think it's good. True they do cut school and go home early from office in order to watch the matches but I wouldn't call it excessive and I wouldn't want them to stop being passionate.

Kshanika Goonesekera, (17):

I hate cricket. In my opinion it is an absolute waste of time. I also feel that we are getting too fanatical about the game. It started when we won the World Cup, but at that point our excessive enthusiasm was justified because we had excelled at international level. Now I think we are taking things a bit too far - kids miss school in order to watch a match, people get off work early so that they can be home in time for a match and an advertisement can't be made without a cricketer being involved. That's what I call fanatical and it gets on my nerves.

Cricket in itself is such a boring game because it's so slow moving. It takes a day to watch 50 overs being bowled and I certainly don't want to waste my time doing that. All other controversies surrounding cricket don't really interest me. I feel there's too much politics in cricket - and I hate cricket as much as I hate politics.

Daruna Tillekeratne, (19):

The present team seems to be on the right track. But in recent times, we seem to be having a bit of bad luck as well-especially during the Sharjah matches when we failed to win the Coca Cola trophy. We can't play matches without senior players, but if Arjuna Ranatunga fails to perform then somebody who can, should be given the chance to play on the team. Having young players on the team is good but it has to be a gradual process. You can't and shouldn't have a totally new team, you need some senior players on it. I'm not a keen follower of cricket, but I do watch the matches. I think it's good that Sri Lankans like the game. After all it's an international game and we are doing well in it. But I feel that as a nation we shouldn't go to extremes. About the next World Cup, well I think Sri Lanka has a pretty good chance.

Sherika Navaratne, (17):

I don't think that there is much to be proud about our cricket team. Maybe three years ago there was a lot to be proud about, but right now there is just no spirit in our team. Sometimes I feel that we just don't try hard enough - we just give the game away. I used to be really keen on watching cricket, but now I have lost interest in the game - sometimes I just can't be bothered.

There is a possibility that things might improve with the younger players. But we might have to wait a bit to see the results.

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