Chandimal a promising new find
Richard Dwight
In those days of yore when our school cricket was of a very high
standard to be admired by those here and abroad every school had
attractive cricketers to be outstanding as match winners.
|
Dinesh Chandimal |
It did speak well for our 'School Cricket', when a few prodigious
cricketers during their relative periods at school were selected to play
for the national team while at school, names like Pat Macarthy, Bryan
Claessen and Arjuna Ranatunga come easily to mind.
They as schoolboys did not fail to make worthwhile contributions and,
so did justify the faith reposed in them by the selectors.
But alas all this happened in the past, for through the following
years our school cricket, club cricket and domestic tournaments, do not
seem to be geared to international cricket. It is spoken of substandard
cricket encounters, where there is no crowd support at all, to
encourage, motivate and serve as incentives - to be stretched the way
they would be at the test level.
Perhaps, this is why our debut makers to the national team find it
difficult to adjust and adapt themselves to the atmosphere and
environment of test cricket. They aren't up to it, to face the exacting
rigours and ordeals of test cricket, to be tentative and hesitant to
give ad-hoc or flash in the pan' performances without any form of
consistency.
It is in the light of this, that we are urged to comment, that debut
maker, Chandimal, is the "Silver lining in a dark cloud" of diffident
debutants. The 21 year-old former Anandian and NCC cricketer made an
impressive entry into the national team (one dayer against India) that
bespoke of maturity which was comparable to other youngsters, who get
into their respective National teams abroad.
He has been a leading run getter and it was a pity that he got run
out for 81 but significant to say that he was an inspiration to seasoned
players, Sangakkara 31 and skipper Mahela 43.
Let Chandimal be an example to other youngsters seeking to play in
the National team. Well done Chandimal. |
