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| Tuesday, 30 March 2004 |
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Invincible cricket bubble bursts by Dr. Elmo Rodrigopulle Sri Lanka's invincible cricket bubble at home burst with Australia inflicting an unpalatable and unacceptable 3-0 whitewash winning the final Test at the SSC by 121 runs on Sunday. They easily won the previous two Tests at Galle and Kandy. With a series defeat at home for the first time in three years, the time has now come for those in charge of the game here to wake up from their slumber and make some daring moves if the game is to regain its former glory. It is the accepted norm that those who dare win. True the whitewash has dented the game and it is now up to the selectors to show that they have the courage to be different and begin by sending a young and forceful team to Zimbabwe from where they can begin to pick up the pieces and get the game back on the correct path. Lalith Kaluperuma, Chairman of selectors is on record saying that they did not want to risk promising youngsters against, a mighty team such as the Aussies. While that reasoning is questionable, he and his team, have now got the opportunity to see that the game here has a new beginning by choosing a young and promising team to Zim. The selectors for far too long have been relying on the old faithfuls. It must be remembered that they can't keep delivering. The selectors must ring the changes. The selectors can't afford and should not be allowed to be intimidated. They are there to do things beneficial to the game. However good a player is, or however powerful, if he is not delivering then he must be dumped, so that it would be a lesson to the others. It is the cry now of all cricket loving Sri Lankans that the selectors consider new faces in the form of Marlon Van Dort, Ian Daniel, Naweed Nawaz, Malinga Bandara, Prasanna Jayawardene and Thilina Kandamby into the big league. Accepted that Sri Lanka need not press the panic button. But the three-nil whitewash is certainly a disgrace. To say that Australia is the best team in the world and to hold that out as an excuse is poor thinking. Two questions among many that the selectors should answer are: Where are the backups for openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu? Also why are they not playing their best wicket keeper? Should not the talented Ian Daniel who has been hitting hard as his tremendous form in New Zealand with the 'A' team proves be in the team to Zimbabwe? Jayawardene was on the previous tour to Zimbabwe, but was sent back after the one-dayers. The selectors boobed by not blooding those knocking on the door. The whitewash demands that the changes be made. The selectors are answerable to the Sports Minister. Whoever the new Minister, it should be his first job to see that the selectors pick teams that would help Sri Lanka to regain its badly lost former glory. We won the previous series in Zimbabwe under the aggressive leadership of Sanath Jayasuriya. The Zimbabweans are no easy beats on their home turf. To lose there too would be a calamity. The moves by the selectors in the coming days would certainly be closely monitored. Wicket tinkering Why oh why did we have to tinker with the wickets? The tinkering was done with the idea that it would help Muralitheran to bowl us to victory. Like we said before the First Test when we got to know that the wicket in Galle was going to be spin friendly, what with the home team going in with five spinners, we said that if the ploy back fires it would be a calamity for the game here, and it did not take long for us to be proved right. We hope that our curators have learned and would not repeat their mistakes. Isn't experience the best teacher? Split in the team? We were taken aback when we were told that there has been a split in the team with camps being formed. If this is true then it is bad form. The lackadaisical way in which the team performed at times gave hints that all is not well in the Lankan camp. If this is so, then the disgraceful defeats come as no surprise. Like in life even in sport, there has to be team spirit of a high order with each one putting his shoulder to wheel and pressing for success. If team spirit is lacking and it is not 'one for all and all for one', then there is little use of playing the game. Doing a Washbrook When the Lankan batting was folding up at crucial moments, with no batsman able to stand up and deliver, we would not have faulted former batting maestro and now selector and vice president of Sri Lanka Cricket Aravinda de Silva had he done a Cyril Washbrook. When England were not playing to form, the then England selector Cyril Washbrook a competent opener who had retired and who was a selector was forced to don pads and what he did to resurrect England fortunes is well known. Murali reported to ICC It did not come as a surprise to learn that match referee, former England opener Chris Broad had reported Muralitheran to the ICC. The reason being that everything is not well with the bowler's new delivery the doosra. Ever since he mastered this delivery and put it up on show during the England tour, questions have been asked. The action in delivering this new ball was going to be questioned and it did not come as a surprise Broad's action. It would be interesting to see how the bowler would go from here. Thanks to Lanka Bell We took in the action at the SSC in the comfort of the hospitality box of Lanka Bell. We had a good view of the action in the middle and our thanks to S. Ramesh, Asst Product Manager Data and ISP and Roshini Shanmugalingam, Secretary, Marketing Dept. |
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