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From the Press Box - Sa'adi Thawfeeq

Sanath Jayasuriya and his band of cricketers restored the faith Sports Minister Johnston Fernando laid on them by bouncing back to win the Morocco Cup three-nation one-day tournament held in Tangiers.

The victory over two of the most powerful one-day teams South Africa and Pakistan, emphasised that Sri Lanka had what it takes to win outside home and that their disappointing performances in England was only a passing phase which all great teams usually go through. There were critics poised with poison pens in their hands to write off Jayasuriya and coach Dav Whatmore following the debacle in England where Sri Lanka lost the three-Test series 2-0 and failed to qualify for the NatWest one-day series final winning only one of their six qualifying round matches.

There were calls for changes of captaincy and coach from people with vested interests who tried to capitalise on the loss to creep into the stream of things.

But the Sports Minister would have none of it and stood firmly behind the captain and coach and told them that they had his full assurance. He told them to put the disappointment of England behind them and to concentrate on what was ahead, with special emphasis being laid on the World Cup in South Africa next February.

The Morocco win is not something that Sri Lanka should not go overboard.

Nevertheless, it has at least restored the confidence of our players after their bitter experience in England. The conditions and the slow pitches in Morocco suited our kind of bowling and we were able to strangle both the Pakistanis and the South Africans. Two former cricketing 'greats' Ian Healy of Australia and Barry Richards of South Africa were quite right in stating that Sri Lanka made the best use of the conditions, but they need to be tested on pitches in South Africa and Australia, which are their next ports of call.

The only two changes the Sri Lanka team underwent following the England defeat was to reappoint Ajith Jayasekera as manager and make Duleep Mendis, a former Sri Lanka captain with immense experience as part of the team management in the capacity of advisor.

Mendis's duties are to assist the coach and management of the team with a view to formulating fresh strategies and obtaining the best results in the forthcoming tours leading up to the 2003 World Cup. He is to work closely with the captain, coach and manager of the team as well as other officials and players.

Having been manager of the victorious Sri Lanka team that won the World Cup in 1996 and the one that lost it three years later, Mendis has gone through thick and thin and has been through it all to knows what it takes to be successful and how disheartened one can be in defeat.

What role he played in Sri Lanka turning it around in Morocco we are not aware, but he is not one who clamours to be in the limelight even when the going is good. That is Mendis. Jayasekera's return to the team as manager has also contributed to its success. Sri Lanka at least has returned to its winning ways beating Bangladesh 2-0 in the Test series and 3-0 in the one-day series and following it up with the victory in Morocco. It was during Jayasekera's duration as manager that Sri Lanka began their magnificent run of nine consecutive Test victories. He has proved to be a lucky mascot to the team.

The return of Sanath Jayasuriya to top form ensured that he led his country from the front. His performances in Morocco which saw him win both the man-of-the-final and the man-of-the-series awards was a slap in the face for those who were critical of his leadership during the England tour.

Jayasuriya made his critics bite the dust with some sterling performances and it was sheer bad luck that he had to end such a wonderful tournament with a fractured arm. Initial reports suggest that he could be out of the all-important Champions trophy also termed the mini-World Cup starting in Colombo next month.

Everyone will be hoping that Jayasuriya recovers in time to lead his country. His loss will be irreparable because there is no destructive opener in one-day cricket than him. Apart from his leadership qualities he is also one of the frontline spin bowlers in the bowling and he is an outstanding fielder. Sri Lanka will be hard pressed to replace a man of such immense virtuosity.

The fast bowling of Pulasthi Gunaratne was a revelation for Sri Lanka in their quest to find the right combination for the 2003 World Cup. Gunaratne has been around for quite some time representing Bloomfield and later BRC in the domestic first-class competition with success for nearly a decade.

But before he could break into international cricket he had to amend his bowling action which was not quite right.

Although a late entry into the international sphere at 28 years, Gunaratne nevertheless, showed that he has the capacity to improve and push forward his claims to be a part of the 14-member World Cup squad ahead of the lanky Nuwan Zoysa. Left-armer Zoysa who looked pretty ordinary during the England tour which led to him being dropped, will find it hard to make a comeback to the one-day team with the likes of Gunaratne, Chamila Gamage and Hasantha Fernando around. The present composition of the Sri Lanka one-day team is more or less the one that will play in the next World Cup maybe with the exception of few changes mainly in the bowling department.

Apart from Gunaratne, it was the experienced batting of past master Aravinda de Silva that gave the Sri Lankan line-up the much needed solidity. De Silva won two man-of-the-match awards with his own bat and that alone speaks of his commitment to the team.

If De Silva makes up his mind there is nothing to stop him from succeeding. His ambition is to play in the 2003 World Cup and with his contributions so far to the team on his recall to the national one-day side, there is little doubt that he won't be there.

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