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by Sa'adi Thawfeeq

Going on tour with an 'A' team means serious business. That is what Michael Tissera, manager of the Sri Lanka 'A' team to England will be trying to instill into his 16 players who represent the next in line to the senior side.

"We are going to make it quite clear to everyone that the joy rides are over. The players must be made to realize that this tour is no joke, not a holiday. That it is serious work and if they want to get into the first team they will have to work very hard," said Tissera.

The Sri Lanka 'A' team will leave on a one-month 10-match tour to England on June 28.

"It doesn't mean that you go to England, see all your friends, have a ball, play the odd match and come back. Those days are gone. Sri Lanka Cricket is spending a lot of money on these 'A' team tours.

You have to work on the basis that you are the feeder for the first team and your performances are not only going to help Sri Lanka but individually also," Tissera continued.

"They have to realize that they are the next lot on the line and that if do well, they have a fine opportunity to play Test cricket. Some of them have already played the odd Test match. But they must now start pushing the others and they've still got a good chance.

The World Cup is three years away and there's a good chance for some of these fellows to push for places in the first team. There's no question about it that there is talent in the team. It is just that it's got to be harnessed properly," he said.

Tissera was of the opinion that from the point of Sri Lanka's cricket future there should be an organized squad operating right throughout the year. "A squad of around 18 players or so must be kept together for a couple of years.

Otherwise what happens is you go on a tour and come back and you disperse. Very few of these fellows will do work on their own. You have to be organized. When they are organized they do well. Then you can instill team work."

"There should be an organized squad for those who are on the fringe of getting into the 'A' team as well, just like they are trying to do now with some of the chaps like Jeevan Mendis, Umesh Wijesiriwardene, Michael Vandort, Tharanga Lakshitha. They are hoping to put them in the Academy to work on their technique so that they can come in at any time," said Tissera.

"Everybody got the feeling that the Australians when they played here worked as a team. It is the same thing we are trying to instill into these chaps. That extra effort is always there. As a team they should be looking at their faults trying to correct things etc.," he said.

Strict disciplinarian

As a past captain of his country, the 65-year-old Tissera still looking slim and fit is highly respected for his discipline. He will leave no stone unturned in ensuring his disciples are also put on the same track.

"I need to tell them about their whole attitude to the game, the way they approach it, and the discipline that goes with it. If you are playing cricket at the highest level, if there is no proper discipline and no teamwork, you will find it very difficult to succeed. That part of it must come in," said Tissera.

"Behaviour on and off the field needs to be tightened up. Punctuality on tour, during practices and matches, dress code etc. are all important aspects. It is difficult to change the attitude of people overnight. Those will have to come gradually.

You have to see that they see the benefits of it and work towards that goal. By the end of the tour or before the beginning of the tour I hope things will fall into place," he said.

Tissera is not new in this job. He has managed several national teams in the past. In 1982 he was manager of the Sri Lanka Schools team that toured England and from that side emerged more than half a dozen cricketers who went onto represent the country.

Cricketers like Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Rumesh Ratnayake, Charith Senanayake, Ashley de Silva and Graham Labrooy. From the present squad Tissera expects at least four or five players to be pushing for places in the senior team.

Mass cricketers, not talented ones

Tissera is of the opinion that the present format of school cricket has to be changed if they are to produce top class cricketers like in the past.

"I don't agree with the present tournament structures, all this limited overs stuff they are playing at junior level. We are just producing mass cricketers but not good talented cricketers. There are very few cricketers in the schools today who can walk into a national team," said Tissera.

"School cricket itself has changed. Things like fitness standards, fielding skills has improved at the higher level. A schoolboy coming in to the national team finds it difficult unless he is really outstanding. There is no question about it that the schools should have a physical instructor or trainer.

These boys from a younger age should be taught to work on a fitness program. A lot of problem with fast bowlers back injuries stem from insufficient training in the schools. It is going to be tough unless they change it gradually," he said.

Tissera said that he was happy to be in charge of a young side particularly an 'A' team because 'you can mould them'. "It will be nice to see their improvement and how they move into the first team."

Having retired from work two years ago, Tissera has more time on his hands to spend on cricket. "I am still on the board of Tea Tang as a consultant, but I am not involved in the day to day business."

He said that he kept himself away from Sri Lanka Cricket's executive committee for 'good reasons' but whether he would help with national teams was 'a matter of whether you are being asked to do it or not'.

"There were times when my work didn't permit me to undertake tours.

"Invariably what happens here is they will ring you a week before the tour and ask you whether you can go as manager. You can't do that. You can't drop everything and just go. I am quite happy to contribute towards the cricket. But I don't want to get involved in the politics of it," concluded Tissera.

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