Bangladesh tour: Acid Test amid new ‘Big 3′ scheme
View(s):
Sanath feels Chandimal should be playing Club Cricket
I think it was roughly about a year-and-a-half ago, I was talking to the then Sri Lanka Cricket Interim Committee Chairman Sidath Wettimuny. Like at present, there was uncertainty, with some of the Mahela-Sanga-Dilshan trio either already retired or, about to hang their international boots. As a result, there was a dark cloud looming over Maitland Place.
I was sceptical and not comfortable with the playing XI of tomorrow. I was wondering how on earth we could carry on with our game of cricket, unhindered to the next phase. In real terms though, we were not right on top, Lankan cricket had lost some of its tenacity in its outlook.
Of course, SLC’s then Interim Committee head took my scepticism in his stride. He was unmoved. Sri Lanka was just about to have a date with the West Indies at that time. Sidath explained, “The best yardstick would be the upcoming series against the Windies. They are also a team not right up the ladder right now; so, we can have a good exchange. Right now, I feel that Sri Lanka is not short of talent. We feel we would be able have a good outing with the visitors and, at the same time, I feel the young guns are ready to fire.” So it was. Sri Lanka won the series without much hassle.
I remember, during that tour, it was all-rounder Milinda Siriwardena who drew the attention. During that series, Siriwardena hardly did a thing wrong. He became hot property. He became a regular member in all three formats of the game.
Yet, the cricket moon was eclipsed and there was a new whip cracking down Maitland Place. Soon, the tune of Lankan cricket also changed. So much so, even the then chief selector was thrown overboard in a midnight mutiny. That too, without a proper selection head put in place. So, no one was surprised when the Lankans crashed, and the Lankans were thrashed in their T-20 title defence last year, but no one cried for Sri Lanka.
Yet, gradually things started to fall into perspective, with Dinesh Chandimal coming into his own in the middle order and new-found Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva suddenly becoming lynchpins of Lankan batting.
Then, in the midst, the holier-than-thou adopted the one-captain policy with Mathews coming in as supreme commander of the Tri-forces and Chandimal who was limping back to normalcy after his bad date with the captaincy, back in the saddle as vice captain, besides the burden of glove work.
History has proved that cricketers of the calibre of Sachin Tendulkar and Ian Botham could perform better without backpacks. At one juncture, they too were given the crown of their respective lands but, once the authorities realised the crown was too heavy on their head, they were relieved of it. As a result, the winner was cricket, in their respective countries.
Even Lanka’s chief cricket selector Sanath Jayasuriya flirted with the crown at one juncture, but decided to abdicate when he realised it would become too heavy a load on his head.
But now, it seems that Chandimal has become the victim of circumstances once again. They put too many eggs in his basket, and it looks as if he has smashed all of them. Now Jayasuriya declares, “Chandimal should go back to his basics and play club cricket.” Jayasuriya has no room for the types of Chandimal in his larder anymore.
Nevertheless, the ploy has worked for now, as the Lankans must be on ‘cloud nine’ with their success Down Under. Yes, it’s good and invigorating. We hit them where it hurt. Yet, I feel this is a well knitted ploy to undermine Sri Lanka cricket. Right now, they are sparring with the T-20 types.
By June this year, the substitute for the now defunct ‘Big-3’ is being prepared in the ICC kitchen. The England-Australia-South Africa threesome, along with their disciples, are hell bent on cooking up an financial formula for the affluent, with or without the support of Maharajah India. India’s short ‘Big-3’ marriage with England and Australia ended in a disaster, and even their very cricket office is in disarray right now, knotted by various legal tangles.
I feel, the affluent want to prove that small nations like Sri Lanka play lesser cricket. Even South Africa tried the same ploy. They came with some three-quarter lengths to take on the fully fledged Lankans and, for the first time, the Lankans returned with the series rubber from South Africa.
Right now, the serious part of Australian cricket is India taking on a very serious assignment. Yet, they were haughty enough to think they could beat Sri Lanka even in a T-20 contest. Where on earth does a cricketing nation take on countries to play two different series in two different continents at national level.
Now the Kangaroos are braying a different tune. Last Tuesday, Australia’s Herald Sun professed: “TRAVIS Head says Australia’s T-20 2nd-stringers must stand up, retrieve respect and avoid a demoralising, summer-ending whitewash against SL in Adelaide on Wednesday night. Australia entered the home season smarting from a 5-0 away, 50-over hiding against South Africa. Aaron Finch’s T-20 ensemble is now fighting to avoid a 0-3 series against Sri Lanka.”
I feel the bigger picture is — had the Proteas or the Australians won the respective series, conveniently, the ‘Australia’s T-20 2nd-stringers’ tag would have been forgotten. If that came to pass, Australia would have shouted their throats hoarse saying, “Australia has the wherewithal to take on two countries simultaneously, and even go on to win the series. But, soldier Asela Gunaratne who first came into focus under the watchful eyes of Kapila Wijegunawardena into the main stream of ‘A’ cricket, proved that the Lankans are capable of subduing an Aussie challenge, even single handed. As for now, the Australians have ended up with chips on both shoulders.
At the same time, Cricinfo says that full membership of the ICC will no longer be a permanent right but instead a privilege up for review every five years, under proposed sweeping changes to the constitution of cricket’s governing body. As for the Lankans, the T-20 series win does not mean they have conquered Everest. They have serious problems in their baggage. Their top order, in any form of the game, is still not settled. One cannot take Upul Tharanga seriously as a captain because, he just cannot command a permanent place in the current batting lineup, in spite of it being so contentious in the present sense. Even during the T-20 series, it was more than evident that it was former T-20 captain Lasith Malinga who was holding the reins, not Tharanga.
All in all, the real test, I feel, would be staged a few days on in Sri Lanka, with the arrival of the Bangladesh team. In recent times, they have given a good account of themselves, even while playing in alien conditions. Unlike the flatfooted white sahibs, the Bangladeshis are good players of spin bowling, while also possessing some good trundlers in their midst. Hence, the Lankans cannot make any miscalculations during this series.