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Cricket posers for the new hierarchy
By S.R. Pathiravithana
Welcome back Mr. Tissera. Welcome back into the limelight! As every one involved in the game knows, the name Michael Tissera is synonymous with cricket. He is time-proven material and the game still needs his contribution.

At this very moment Sri Lanka cricket is having a break from the game. However in another fifty days or so they will be taking on a set of cricketers from the Caribbean who are currently going through a flagging morale. Seemingly, beating them in conditions which are alien to them would be no daunting task. Along with that, taking their current mental mood in the middle, and their memories of the debacles which engulfed them during their last fateful tour of the island would give no added courage or morale to take on the Sri Lankans.

Ironically, Sri Lanka cricket is also going through a phase of uncertainty. I am not delving into what is going on out there in the echelons of power, but, within the domain of cricket itself.

At present a lot of Sri Lanka's senior cricketers are well over thirty years of age and some are even inching towards the twilight of their career. Skipper Marvan Atapattu, his predecessor Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralidharan are well over thirty years of age and no one can possibly expect them to go on beyond the next two or three years. Then, young blood will have to be drawn in to replace the aging seniors. When that happens do we have the next set of cricketers bundled together?

At present Sanath Jayasuriya, the oldest of the lot, is going through a horrendous patch. His last exploits were in Pakistan where he shone with both bat and ball, but thereafter fumbled. Even at present he is not doing any favours for himself while performing at the county circuit in England.

But in the recent past have we produced anyone who could even pose a challenge to his place at the top? At one point fingers were pointed at the selectors and the accusation was that the doors were not opening for the younger players. However at the top of the batting order the selectors have tried players like Saman Jayantha, Shantha Kalavitigoda, Avishka Gunawardena, Michael Van Dort without much success. When those aspiring cricketers were given a chance they failed to make the grade. So no one can say that they were given just one chance and put into cold storage. All of them got more than one chance to prove themselves. This means that the incumbent cricketers get another lease at the top, unchallenged.

Coming to the middle order, once on a sudden impulse the selection committee brought in former Royalist Jehan Mubarak to replace Tillekeratne Dilshan during Sri Lanka's tour of Pakistan, but he too failed. Then the likes of Tilina Kandambi too dropped by to don the jersey once or twice, but could not come up with an innings to pose a threat to any of the current players who are already in. The result is that proven failures like Russel Arnold keep on getting recalled into the main fold over and over again in spite of a string of failures. The only cricketer who cemented his place in the middle order as a batsman in the recent past is Thilan Samaraweera who was incidentally brought into the side to trundle a few overs of off spinners.

However, when you take the performances of these players who were given a chance, they have been prolific scorers in the domestic scene. In the last Provincial tournament Kalavitigoda, Van Dort, Gunawardena and Kandambi virtually played themselves into contention. But, when it came to the real Test they failed.

At the same time when you go back two to three decades even youngsters just out or may be even still in school used to take up the challenge and come through. Arjuna Ranatunge, Aravinda de Silva, Ranjan Madugalle played themselves into the main fold while representing their school teams and not first class cricket.

Then the next question is, is there a degeneration of cricket when it comes to Test level, for right at this moment Sri Lanka is placed fifth in the Test arena and second in the limited version of it. To keep performing at peak you need ready replacements, but, if it is not forthcoming we are definitely in for hard times in the future. Adding to the woes, if the gap between domestic standards and the international circuit is ever increasing the task of the hierarchy is going to be a daunting one.

This phenomena is not limited to first division cricket. In the days gone by, Sri Lanka school cricket was second to none in the top slot of the cricketing nations, but, two weeks ago, the Sri Lanka under 15- team lost to the Bangladesh under 15- side in their own backyard. This is a clear indication of the rot having set in, and the game of cricket taking a downward spiral.

Coming back to the post of cricket manager, isn't it more of an administrative job? How could Michael Tissera impart his vast knowledge of the game doing this job of a mere administrator is a question to ask because at the top there is a coach and other allied coaches to look after the technicalities of the game. However, if he can help Sri Lanka cricket from this pedestal Lankan cricket will definitely be the winner.

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