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Comment by Dr. Elmo Rodrigopulle

The Australians could well be termed the cry babes of cricket. After the Caribbean tour where they played Four Test and Seven One-Day Internationals, they finished the tour and started the all too familiar cry that the tour was too long, too much cricket with a result of burn out and too tiring etc.

Mind you this was after they won the Test series 3-1 and the One-Day Series 4-3. When they were winning, there were no rumblings or grumblings. But when the Windies thrashed them in the remaining three one-dayers, the cry babe act began. If the complaint that they were playing too much cricket was to be accepted, then how come that they agreed to play off season. Should they not have used the off season to nurse their tired limbs and recover from burn out?

Instead they agree to play off season against lowly placed Bangladesh, beat them easily and now that the going is good no complaints.

The Aussie cricketers are wanting to have the cake and eat it. Skipper Stephen Waugh who is the most capped, most successful captain and who is now second in the list of Test century makers with 32, with Sunil Gavaskar in the lead with 34, has gone on record saying that the two new Test venues - Cairns and Darwin are as good as the best in Australia.

All that is well and good.

But the Aussies must not engage to please and play off season. True they have to honour their engagements, but to take Test countries to the outskirts or the woods of cricket should not be the idea. And the Sri Lankans should not have agreed to play their Two Test matches next year in Cairns and Darwin.

By bowing down to the Aussies, the Sri Lankans have dropped esteem. Now that the Lankans have fallen prey to the Aussies, there is no going back. It is the thousands of Sri Lankan cricket fans in Melbourne and Sydney who will miss seeing and cheering their heroes.

On the last tour when skipper Sanath Jayasuriya skipped the friendly in Melbourne the thousands of Lankans fans who crowded the MCG felt very bad and were thoroughly disappointed. Not all Lankans living in normal Test playing venues in Australia can make it to Cairns and Darwin to watch the Lankans.

Muru and Myla deserve it

The Tamil Union must be congratulated for deciding to honour their past stalwarts T. Murugaser and A. Mylvaganam, by having a gate and a stand in their honour. Both were top class sportsmen. Muru a cricketer and 'Myla' a hockey player who had no peer as a short corner specialist.

I had the good fortune of playing under Murugaser as a schoolboy when he captained the TU Daily News team in the late fifties.

A game I well remember was against the Bloomfielders at the then Colombo Oval. Bloomfield batting first made 141 with yours truly bowling leg spinners and googlies to capture 6 for 53. Tamil Union were in a bad way at 41 for 7, when Homer Titus joined 'Muru' to begin the rescue act. Titus made 41. Then Muru was involved in another good stand with S. Coomaraswamy (not Sathi) a former Zahirian to bring the TU an exciting win.

Murugaser played a captain's knock to remain unbeaten on 100 and lead his team to a memorable victory. After that game the Daily News ran the headline: Murugaser's century was match-winner. Muru later went on to serve the Cricket Board where his services were well received. When Muru went as manager with the 1983 World Cup Sri Lankan team to England I had the opportunity to cover the tour for the Times of Ceylon. The simple personality that he was, when I used to remind him about that century he used to smile and say: Yes. I remember that century that helped the side win the game'.

Myla was one if not the greatest short corner specialist the game has seen here or in Asia. No defenders rushing to stall the hit or the opposing goal keeper would relish when 'Myla' was taking the short corner. He hit it with such tremendous power that the ball rocketed into the board with the speed of lightning.

A game I well remember was the one between the Old Bens who were new to the big league - the Andriesz Shield - and the Tamil Union at the Army ground, Galle Face. The Bens conceded several short corners in their enthusiasm and it was a treat to watch Mylvaganam converting them with ease with drives that beat the onrushing defenders and goal keeper giving them no chance.

And this was when 'Myla' was in the twilight of his illustrious career. I was then doing the hockey rounds for the Times of Ceylon and the hockey critic at that time was former Features Editor of the Times, Subbiah Muttiah, who wrote the then popular column - 'Corner Flag'.

He wrote reams about Mylvaganam's prowess with the curved wand.

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