Half full than half empty

Despite the great expectations of its adoring fans the Sri Lanka cricket team became only the second best in the T20 World Cup. It is definitely a huge disappointment for all its supporters and of course to the team. It spoiled a dream start for the new skipper Kumara Sangakkara, who could have emulated the former great Arjuna Ranatunge when he and his team brought cricketing glory to Sri Lanka in 1996! However as we all know this is not the end of the world for Sanga and his team and if you were to look at it, it’s a case of “half full” than “half empty” as I believe the positives clearly out weighs the negatives and the opportunities are greater!

Digressing a bit further, I believe the greatest and the biggest positive Sri Lanka cricket has gained is the manner Sangakkara lead his men. After the sudden step - down by Mahela Jayawardane, one of Sri Lanka’s most competent captains and possibly the best we have seen up to now (With Sangakkara still too early in the job for judgement), it was both a challenge and a tough task for the next man. In that light Sangakkara’s first assignment has seen him pass with flying colours as he has shown the whole world that he is unruffled as captain on the field and can do the job without losing out on his other contributions to the team. i.e batting and keeping.

Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara shares a light moment with world cricket’s senior citizen Sanath Jayasuriya upon their return to the island from their successful T20 excursion in England.

The re-emergence of Dilshan as a batsman of the highest class in another major contributory factor in Sri Lanka’s successful performance. His batting style ideally suited for the T20 should be made full use of, without making the mistake of asking him to do anything different from his usual role in test cricket.
It is very clear that Sri Lanka still depends tremendously on the qualities of Sanath Jayasuriya the batsman, and without doubt it’s going to be a huge vacuum and a void to fill when the Master Blaster finally hangs up his boots. Having said that and looking at the manner Jayasuriya has been running around in the field he definitely doesn’t come across as somebody who is 40 but a player at least ten years junior. That is how much Jayasuriya works at his game and he has proved critics totally wrong by his dedication and application and his record as a player will be very hard to match. As for the rest it is imperative that Sri Lanka finds the right combination in batting, though Jayawardane failed to live up to his very high reputation, he is such a quality player that it is only a matter of time he returns to his very best. But the failure of Chamara Silva and Mubarak despite the faith placed in them by the selectors has been disappointing. It is time that they pull up their socks or may compel the selectors to look
elsewhere.

In the bowling department the return to form of Lasith Malinga with his extra pace has been a real bonus and should be protected. Malinga is the type of bowler who can give the opponents “a taste of the pace medicine” and can have a few batsmen hopping around. The performance of the Mystery bowler Ajantha Mendis too has been a huge factor in the success of Sri Lanka. The very fact that Mendis is a mystery has added to the problems of the opponents and he is going to be a huge challenge for batsmen round the world to dominate whilst being an asset to Sri Lanka cricket for a very long time. In the case of Mendis it is important that he follows the path of the spin great Muralitharan. Lets not forget that Murali in his early days didn’t have the great variety he possesses now and was easily read. But once again with his dedication and hard work Murali has developed such a repertoire in his bowling armoury which has helped him to return the greatest harvest in International Cricket. It’s important that young Mendis follows the same path in his quest for bigger things.

Finally a word about the final! It is easy to be an arm chair critic and captain the side from outside the boundary. But it is also important that views are voiced if it is meant in the best interest of the team. However a few questionable facts were the batting of Mubarak at the fall of the first wicket, when Sri Lanka would have expected its captain and the stabilizing factor in the team Sangakkara to come in. I feel with Jayasuriya at the other end, Sanga would have been the ideal foil.

The next questionable change was the promotion of Udana ahead of Angelo Mathews. In a game where a team has only 120 deliveries to use up, was it prudent to send somebody at no 7 who had not had a hit up to that time? What about a young man who had done no wrong with the bat up to then and capable of quick runs? I felt that Mathews could have used the 6 balls given to Udana to better use and another 10 to 12 runs surely could have made the difference. I am sure these look trivial but could have easily been factors in the final out come. But again the wisdom prevailing in the Sri Lankan line up at that moment is far greater than most teams could muster and hence the decisions would have been arrived at with a good reason.

Roshan Abeysinghe is a leading cricket promoter and an international cricket commentator