ISSN: 1391 - 0531
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Vol. 41 - No 39
Sports

The growing pains

After a two world cup stint as outsiders, Sri Lanka had already become a part of the mainstream by the time the 1983 World Cup tournament began once again in England. Now they had no excuses in form of the game. Every run scored, every wicket taken against went to the respective foe and to their individual tally of performances. And as the minnows on the stage they just waited for their chance to wallop the Lankans.

Duleep Mendis expressing his views Pix by Saman Kariyawasam

In a huge twist of fate in the cricket of this fledgling nation, a short while after their inaugural Test there was an exodus of some the richest talent available in Lankan cricket when some opted to take part in an unauthorized tour of the then debarred South Africa. As a result, the burden of carrying the band wagon ahead was thrust upon Duleep Mendis – a name that still is in the forefront of Sri Lanka from its unofficial times of 1975s to 2007 when the team is going in as one of the favourites. In short Mendis has been involved with Sri Lanka cricket at every world cup in an official capacity from 1975 till now.

Mendis began explaining as to how Sri Lanka started their long and sometimes lonely trek in the ‘big time’ cricket. “When we got Test Status in 1981 there was lot excitement and a lot of expectations. People were waiting for new things to happen and we knew that we were in the ‘big league’. We knew what the opposition that we were going to face were and also at the same time the expectations were great. However we faced one set back when we lost a few players for the South African tour. It was a huge set back and we then were in a team building process. At the same time unlike now we did not have an FTP (future tours programme). When you take the FTP today, we are very busy with it. But at that time we play one match and then have to wait for months or some time years to play our next match. To add to our woes, as a result of the situation of the country, even some tours scheduled to the country were cancelled.

“Playing cricket at that level you need to play the game on the same note on a regular basis. Then if you are doing so even if you make a mistake you can rectify yourself and comeback and see that it works. However at that time we did not have that luxury”.

The 1983 World Cup squad

Lack of preparation

Continuing on the same theme the former skipper lamented “Then coming back to the World Cup, there were things that we were not aware of. How you could train, how you could build, how you could build your mind –these things we did not know. Some times we did physical training, but we never had gym training. Then only we were taught that we had to couple both together to get the best result. Some times the physiotherapists used to say that if you keep on running you can get weak. But, if you couple it with gym work you can get the desired results. At that time we were not aware of these highly technical aspects of training. Another thing that we realized once we reached the top was our inability to sustain ourselves in a game. We were good in short bursts. We were good in the one day version of the game, but still we found out that we lacked the finish. We used to start of well then we slack in the middle and we end up at the wrong end. Either we can’t get the required wickets or you get the initial breakthrough, but you can’t finish up. We were very inconsistent at time. However when you take the players we had quality players in the calibre of Roy Dias, Ranjan Madugalle, Sidath Wettimuny, D.S. de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunge, Asantha de Mel, Rumesh Ratnayake and Vinothan John etc…But, I always felt what we lacked at that time were regular international cricket. Had we that opportunity of frequent international cricket, we certainly would have performed better. Our main concern was the preparation – that is how we could prepare ourselves for an event like the World Cup. We always knew we always could win that odd game down the line, but, sustaining that was our problem right through. The main reasons for this were our weakness in the areas of mental toughness and fitness. Just before the tournament I remember Sir Garfield Sobers came down to coach us for a very short stint. He is one of the best cricketers the world has ever seen, but the best cricketer may not make the best coach. For instance John Buchanan – the Australian coach has played only seven first class matches. But, just see the results that he has produced with their national team. I also feel that a coach if he is going take on a side he must stay around for a while. You can get the desired results only if a coach stays on with a side for a period of time like what Tom (Moody) is doing with the team”.

At practices with Sir Garfield Sobers

Worst event
Duleep Mendis was not a very happy man when he spoke about the very next World Cup. Duleep said “I think the 1987 World Cup is one of the worst events that we went through The team was in shatters, the team spirit was not there. What was our success in 1996 – it was the team spirit. After the events which took place in Australia in 1995, the team got together – they had one ambition. I can say this because I was the manager, this ambition was to beat Australia. When started to win the matches the whole team as one were waiting to meet Australia in the final and beat them. They performed as a team and not as individuals. As cricketers they were brilliant individuals. It also may have been that at that juncture we did not have adequate cricket at the top level. When things are in that position and there are no matches frustration may set in. Then one might think that he is not getting a fair deal. How can the authorities even think of a fair deal when there is no cricket?

“Now see our national team they are fully preparing for the World Cup. Or you take the whole circuit all are getting ready for it. There are new faces coming in. Every coach, every captain is trying to analyse which name will come into which slot. Every team is at present trying get their final Xl ready to put out on that particular day when it comes to the World Cup. To get that composition into place you need to play cricket. For instance take the case of Chamara Silva – he played only in the last game. Unfortunately the first game was washed out. Then if there was only three matches and the first game gets washed off just see what would have been the plight of Chamara Silva. That is why I say that you must be at it. Now this is the luxury that we lacked at that time. You try one team and if that fails you had no way of rectifying it.

Duleep Mendis with the then Cricket Board President Gamini Dissanayake and his wife Srima Dissanayake

“People ask me as to how I faced Jeff Thomson or Dennis Lillee. At the same time they must be asking the present cricketers as to how they cope with Bret Lee. However at that time we did not have the opportunity of facing the genuinely fast bowlers on a frequent basis so it was difficult, but, todays cricketers are doing it all the time. So they adapt themselves to the situation quite quickly. For us at that time you get that pace only when you come across a bowler of that nature right in the middle of a match. Todays batsmen go back and hook the bowlers who are bowling at you at 95 miles per hour. But, if you face them only once in seven months or a year then you cannot do it.

“In 1983 it was not that bad because we were building our side up, but I always felt that in 1987 it was bad. Then when you start losing, losing badly at that you start panicking. Then you are wondering how you can lift your game and then if your team is not together everything falls apart. Now at present the coach, the manager all what they strive is to keep the team together. When you are losing it is the easiest time for the team to fall apart. That is the time when the team management should come together and preserve the team spirit.

“In 1987 when we started losing matches about two or three in a row, the days started getting longer, the event was getting longer and we did not know when to finish the event and get back home. That is why I feel so strongly about the team spirit. Sadly in 1987 we lacked this ingredient” concluded the former Sri Lanka cricket captain.

 
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Copyright 2007 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka.