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| Saturday, 21 August 2004 |
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Light at the end of the tunnel Sri Lanka's reserve ranks, which had been somewhat, bare at one time is suddenly brimming with players knocking on the door for recognition which is a happy augury for the future of cricket in the country. There is nothing like the competition for places in the senior side for them to lift their play one notch higher in order to keep their places in the team. What keeps a team like Australia on top of the rankings in both forms of the game is their strong reserve bank. There are so many players who are good as those in the present team who cannot find a place that they are displaying their outstanding talents in the English counties. The wonderful performances of the Sri Lanka 'A' team in the past 12 months in South Africa, Kenya, India (where they won the one-day triangular and drew the 3-Test unofficial series 1-1), New Zealand and finally England (7 one-day wins, a win, a loss and a draw in 3 first-class matches) has brought forth some exciting talent which has already started to put pressure on the senior team. Former Sri Lanka captain Michael Tissera who managed the Sri Lanka 'A' side to England said: "All this time they were saying we have no players to fill in places. I think given the opportunity we have. I feel that there is potential and if the players are kept together and given some incentives, some of them will soon make the Sri Lankan side. As it is three chaps came down for the Asia Cup one-dayers and Ian Daniel is in the Test squad. One or two others will definitely be pushed which I think is a good thing from Sri Lanka's cricket point of view." That Sri Lanka cricket in on a healthy footing is reflected by their performances in the last three series. Drawing the Test match against Australia at Cairns gave them a lot of confidence, which they carried onto the six-nation Asia Cup at home, which they won quite handsomely against favourites India. They followed this up with their maiden Test series victory over South Africa, which in the opinion of many was one of the finest victories achieved by the country in a Test for a long time. The fact that it was accomplished without the wiles of world record holder Muttiah Muralitharan makes the victory even more commendable. Upul Chandana at Cairns and Sanath Jayasuriya and Rangana Herath at the SSC showed that Sri Lanka's spin cupboard is not as bare as it has been made out to be. The over reliance of Muralitharan by the Sri Lankan captains has not given other spinners the opportunity to display their talents. Muralitharan's decision to keep away from the Australian tour and now his shoulder injury could be a blessing in disguise. It has forced the Sri Lankan think tank to plan out different strategies to beat sides. Without their great bowler Sri Lanka have shown by their performances in Australia and victory over South Africa that they can yet beat the top sides with bowlers whom they had hardly given opportunities to when Muralitharan was present. Players spoon-fed Coach John Dyson thinks differently to others who had preceded him in that position. In a recent interview with him he came up with an aspect, which he thinks is vital for Sri Lanka cricket to take that step from being ordinary to super class status. That is to make the players think independently. "I think that's the way forward. It's very much along the lines what the Australians are doing. Whether the players can actually do it remains yet to be seen," said Dyson. "This is a decision that Sri Lanka cricket as a whole has to take if they want to move forward. The players need to become independent thinkers. They need to think about the game while they are on the field all the time, read the game on the field, assess what's required of their skills and apply that knowledge. It is still very early days," said Dyson. "From what I've learnt from Sri Lankan cricket in the past they have been somewhat spoon fed going as far back to Arjuna Ranatunga. During his captaincy they won the World Cup. He was a very dominant captain and a very dominant personality. He did all the thinking for the players. "I am trying to get them past that to the next level. If you look at the Australian side for example that's exactly what they do. They think about the game so often. They are not held by the hand throughout, every step of the match," said Dyson. "There are a couple of players who have grasped the concept. There are others who haven't and will take longer to come to grips with what I am trying to do. Some may never come to grips with it all. We are nowhere near yet towards achieving that sort of atmosphere within the team. People in Sri Lanka seem to think that at the click of your fingers things can happen overnight. They don't realize that it is a very big change and that it takes time to achieve," Dyson continued. "We have some very skilled players in all areas of the game. It seems to me an important area that is lacking is this one. People in Sri Lanka talk about mental strength. It comes from a number of components and one of those components is being able to read a match, being able to know your own skills and how to apply them on various match situations. Not rely on someone to hold your hand through every ball. When they are in the middle they are on their own. They must think for themselves out there and they must react to situations," he said. |
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