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SLSCA awakens to reality

At long last, some positive steps have been taken by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA), the controlling body for school cricket in this country to raise the standard of the game from which it has fallen into over the last two decades or so.

The introduction of a new points system into the 2001-02 schools cricket season, where the emphasis is winning on the first innings (rather than outright) has seen some interesting contests taking place in the third term matches being played at present.

The whole exercise of this change of format is to get the batsmen to bat for longer periods at the crease and for the bowlers to buy their wickets.

The overall effect of this change according to Sri Lanka under 19 coach Owen Mottau, on whose initiation this system was adopted and approved by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board's coaching committee, will be seen in another two or three years.

Mottau, a former club cricketer and rugby player who was domiciled in Australia for several years, but retained as the Sri Lanka under 19 coach by the Cricket Board, has been emphasising on this change for quite some time.

It is the system adopted in club cricket in Australia, which is the no. 1 Test-playing country in the world. What it will do to our schoolboy cricketers is it will make the batsmen graft an innings rather than throw his bat at very ball like in a limited overs tournament because the side batting first has the maximum of 110 overs to put up a decent total and give their bowlers enough space to dismiss the other side.

Also, the bowlers will need to bowler longer spells and earn their wickets rather than the previous seasons when in the light of a probable declaration, they are access to gaining cheap wickets without making much effort.

Mottau feels that with time, the preparation of pitches for these matches will also change. Presently, some of the pitches prepared for school matches are substandard as the host school attempts to garner an outright win to gain full points. The new system discourages that, with much emphasis being laid on the first innings. For a long time we have been reminding the SLSCA that the ruination of our batting and bowling standards at national level has been the introduction of the one-day limited-overs game to the schools. Since then the gradual erosion process has taken place and with time has led to the present state, where the national selectors are left with a dearth of quality players. The standard of school cricket is not what it was some 20 years ago. Gone are the days when a schoolboy cricketer walked straight into the national team.

Standards have dropped so drastically that even the most successful schoolboys of the current crop find it difficult to cope with the intensity of international cricket when they are selected to play for their country. The most notable failures are Tillekeratne Dilshan , Indika de Saram, Chamara Silva, Niroshan Bandaratilake, Jayantha Silva, Indika Gallage, Rangana Herath, Malinga Bandara, Prasanna Jayawardene, Dinuk Hettiarachchi, Eric Upashantha, all of whom have been given exposure to Test cricket, but have failed to retain a permanent place. The fact why they have failed is not due to the lack of skills or talent. They have plenty of them, but for the very simple reason that they lack in temperament, mental toughness and self-discipline, which can come from playing in longer duration matches. Test cricket is all these factors and if these players find it difficult to bridge the gap between club cricket, which they go through after school, and Test cricket, it is the system through which they come that has to be blamed, and not the player.

What temperament is all about can be gauged by the comments made by the most successful batsmen produced by Sri Lanka, Aravinda de Silva. The other day De Silva in an interview admitted that he hated batting at the nets.

"I don't like batting at the nets because sometimes I lose confidence. If I have a problem only I bat at the nets. For me, it's a mental game. Maybe others will need to practice and practice all the time," said De Silva, who amassed nearly 6,000 runs for his country in Test cricket.

The SLSCA has a big role to play if the country's cricket is to flourish in the future. It is from the schools that cricketers are made and if the nursery that produces such individuals runs dry, so does the top. In the words of the SLSCA president B.S. Perera: "It is important that the batsmen learned to produce lengthy innings rather playing for two days and producing a series of draws. In a Test match it is all about occupying the crease and building big scores".

The realisation should have come a long time ago. But is better to be late than never. We should commend the SLSCA for making a start even, at this late stage.

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