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| Wednesday, 21 April 2004 |
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Where are they now? by Malsiri Kurukulasuriya During the holidays, I was able to spend time with some ex-cricketers. Amongst many topics, one that raised much interest was the whereabouts of some talented youngsters who seemed to have just 'vanished'. We are hoping that the selectors perhaps would be good enough to enlighten us - - Suresh Perera, Pulasthi Gunaratne, Charitha Buddhika (a useful one day player), Ruchira Perera - he was called for a suspicious action. He seems to have corrected things. I saw him bowling during the inter-provincial tournament. He bowled with hostility and grabbed 7 wickets. Kaushalya Weeraratne - he was off to a reasonably good start till he injured his hand. The Board sent him to a specialist in Australia or New Zealand. On his return he played in the inaugural game at Dambulla. On a wicket that slow he bowled 5 overs for 16 runs. That was it. Surely the Board must have thought well of him to be sent abroad for treatment, and then give one game and put him to rest. Michael Van Dort - He made lots of runs for the CCC in the 1 to 3 spots and was on several Test squads but never got a break. As I look back over the past 10 years when we were struggling to find a decent partner for Vaas, there was Dilip Liyanage. He had a lovely and balanced approach and delivered at good speed. He was accurate and worried right-handed batsmen with a lethal out-swinger. I believe he was injured and was out for nearly two years. He came back and seemed to have got it back together but he was never given an opportunity to play for his country. Equally puzzling is the story of Naveed Nawaz (he seems to be the permanent captain of the 'A' side!!) And what is the future of Mubarak? Prior to the last World Cup he toured both Australia and South Africa. He may have played 3 games on those two tours. I think he made a 45 on one occasion. He did however have many opportunities on the field as a substitute. He showed he was a good fielder (and a batsman of some talent). He too seems to have got buried in the A team. How would you pick Kandamby over Nawaz or Mubarak. He has had many opportunities but did nothing of note till two weeks ago he made 85 in New Zealand. It is indeed difficult to follow the mysterious logic of our selectors. One must really feel badly for Dinusha Fernando. He played against England in the 2nd Test in Kandy. He got to bowl no more than 6 overs in the match. He certainly deserved a better fate as did seem to have some pace and his length and line was not bad. Batting at No. 10 he played like a veteran. Possessed with a good technique, he played some glorious strokes on his way to a 50 on debut. That was the last time we saw him. The blame on this occasion rests on Tillekeratne's head. It was poor captaincy. |
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