Sports - Ganguly saga replayed?

Is this the Sri Lankan version of the Ganguly saga? Well….a section of the Sri Lankan cricket pundits hastily pushed the aging Lankan marauder off to England with a view to add more muscle to the flagging Lankan batting fortunes (that’s what they think) while the others who are well aware of the ground situation have seen no role for this ex-giant in the present line-up for their match against Sussex.

Now that the young brigade has somewhat proven that they too possess the wherewithal and the inner strength to rise to the occasion we can take a drive down cricketing lane and ascertain as to who has stood up and have been counted.

Among the top three (what I mean are the openers – Tharanga, Mubarak and Vendort), it was once again only Tharanga who stood up and was reckoned with. In the first innings ‘playing at Lord’s’ mumbo-jumbo got over this-- tsunami hit rural lad and played a typically dumb stroke and paid the price. But in the second innings it was Tharanga along with his senior partner Sangakkara who paved the way for the rest of the Lankan batsmen and showed that there were no “gonibillas” in that half-baked English attack, after “I don’t know why he is there.” Mubarak who had committed hara-kiri has been afforded another chance to show clearly what he does not possess.

Michael Vandort I feel is lucky to have got the nod over Sanath Jayasuriya who did the yo-yo and was tipped to get the nod for the opening slot for the second Test. Now it is up to Vandort to hold on tight to this last straw that has come his way.

At present Jayasuriya must be going through the same vibes that Ganguly went through while waiting on the sidelines in India. At the same time one may also think now that he has come out of retirement why not make use of this man who still can make the rest of the world stand on their heads on his day.

As for Kumar Sangakkara I am the happiest in this little episode. In the recent past it was clearly shown the pressure was mounting on this fighting young cricketer. It was evident that his facial expressions kept on changing by the innings with the happenings at the other end of the wicket and off it. So much so there came a point when Sangakkara gets out even the spectators tended to switch off the TV’s and try to concentrate on something else because even they knew that not much was left in the rest after his departure. But, in this innings some other players led by skipper Mahela Jayawardena assured him that they too could shoulder the burden and row the troubled boat to coast.

As for Samaraweera and Kapugedera, they possess the necessary talent to be playing at the highest level and do deserve longer runs in their respective slots. By chance if someone even suggests that they should be dropped because of their failures in this match, they should not be performing as national selectors.

As a senior member of the squad and a late middle order batsman it is Tillekeratne Dilshan fulfilling his mission. Yes, he does get that 30-50 score against his name and making sure that his name does appear in the same place in their next outing too. But, to my mind his job out there is a little bigger than that. It’s time that he stands up and gets into the boots of Arjuna Ranatunge or his namesame Hashan Tillekeratne. Both Hashan Tillekeratne and Ranatunge during their tenure in the middle order used to get the same scores as Dilshan, but they also used to tag along the other end too. When the two older-statesmen in their time used to get a fifty they also carried the other end and got them to provide the necessary tens and twenties so that the final total will get boosted by at least another 120 to 150 runs. What I mean is that Dilshan now should start walking along with the rest of the batting and not run away back into the dressing room after his undroppable personal contribution.

Then come all-rounders and the bowlers who can bat. In this slot definitely Maharoof is getting counted. As a batsman he is improving once again by the innings but as far as his bowling is concerned I cannot understand why he cannot hit the same length and direction overseas that he hits at home. As far as Vaas is concerned he knows what he is doing.

For young Kulasekera I have this little anecdote. When Border’s Aussie Xl toured Sri Lanka some time ago, time and again it was off spinner Gerg Mathews that pulled the tourists out of many a batting rut. Then once at an after-match captain meeting us in the local press queried from Border if he was happy that he had discovered another promising all-rounder in Mathews? The answer was grim and straight. Border said “He was included in the squad as an off spinner and as long as he shows performance at the job for which he was selected he can hold on to his place”.

In bowling though Sri Lanka almost opted to throw their wickets away in the first innings during the entire five days of play the wicket proved to be a true bowlers heart-breaker. But, Sri Lanka managed only five wickets (along with a spate of bad umpiring decisions). However England with an equally bad attack managed nineteen wickets and nine missed catches. But as for Sri Lanka surely they can have a better combination in bowling. At the same time it was intriguing to note that a bright element somewhere decided to black out the match from the local channels and keep it only accessible to the more affluent who could afford cable TV.

As for former England opener Geoffrey Boycott who speaks the queens language with a queer accent said “My mum could have scored against this attack” when the England top order batsmen were scoring freely against the Sri Lankan bowling attack. But, little did Mr. Boycott know that even the old King coconut vendor down our market place could have survived against those “butter fingered” English cricketers and their fireless line-up of bowlers who toiled for almost three days on that dead wicket.