Wayamba - a shame on Champions Twenty20

Wayamba X1 representing Sri Lanka in the Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa lost their first two games to Warriors X1 and Chennai Super Kings without putting up a semblance of a fight.

When the team left, they did so with a lot of confidence promising to make their presence felt and if possible bringing the trophy to Sri Lanka. But watching them perform in the two games, they cut sorry figures and did not look a team worthy of playing in such a prestigious tourney.

They did not seem to have the temperament and approach for this style of game. Other than for the big hitting Jeevantha Kulatunga in the first game where he slammed a belligerent 59, the rest of the batsmen looked utterly out of depth.

Unfortunately Kulatunga failed to come into the frame of the former selectors when picking teams for national representation. However he has continued to make his bat talk and still has hopes of sporting the elusive national cap.

Best performers

Wayamba have some of the best performers in the game. As batsmen they have Mahela Jayawardena, Jeevantha Kulatunga, Mahela Udawatte, Jehan Mubarak, Thissra Perera, Fervez Mahroof and Kaushal Lokurachchi.

The bowling seems to be their forte with Chanaka Welagedera, Mahroof, Thissara Perera, Ajantha Mendis, Herath and Lokuarachchi. But not one of the bowlers was among the wickets which added to their woes.

Jayawardena from whom much was expected, after his superb form in the triangular won by Sri Lanka beating India in the final, surprisingly could not carry that form into the SA tourney.

He opened batting in both games and was dismissed early, which once again opens the debate whether he should be persisted as an opener in the shorter versions of the game.

Rare batting talent

When Jayawardena opens, big runs are expected from him, and big runs consistently. To be dismissed early would be to sacrifice this rare batting talent. It could also have an unsettling effect on the rest of the batsmen which Sri Lanka can ill afford.

The think tanks of Sri Lanka cricket with all good intentions have forced him to open batting, hoping to fit him into this role in the up coming 2011 World Cup to be conducted in the sub continent.

But they will do well to rethink this strategy. Jayawardena is too brilliant a batsman to be thrown to the wolves early in the innings. When he led Sri Lanka into the finals of the previous World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007 he took strike as a two drop batsman.

He proved a steadying influence in that tournament and the magnificent century he scored against the New Zealanders is still vivid in my mind. He started slowly, but once he settled down played easily the best century scored in that tournament which Sri Lanka was unfortunate not to have won.

Demoralizing

It was the demoralizing and masterly 149 scored by that Australian batting sensation the left handed Adam Gilchrist that knocked the sails out of the Sri Lankan cricketing battle ship in Barbados in the final.

It will do Jayawardena and Sri Lanka cricket a world of good and strengthen the chances of winning the next edition of the World Cup, if they rethink their strategy and not sacrifice Jayawardena early, but let him bat in his usual number four position and add the nerve, sinew and muscle to the batting.

We who have played the game and being the first to make a century when limited over cricket was introduced to Sri Lanka in 1972 called the Brown’s Trophy, and followed the fortunes and misfortunes of the unassuming and highly talented cricketing genius Mahela Jayawardena from the time he got the feel of big time cricket when he flew into South Africa as a replacement, believe that he should be treated with concern and care, if he is to deliver.

Jayawardena is one of the most elegant and stylish batsman in world cricket. His off driving is from the book. When he gets going there is no better sight to watch in the game. Former Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar is on record saying he would travel many a mile to watch the great man batting.

Jessopian hitting

Having said that we now move on to South Africa where the Champions League Twenty20 is in full swing and to describe the Jessopian like hitting by that strong and powerfully built West Indian Kieron Pollard.

Pollard a right hander with strong writs and fore arms is like a Tornado striking when he is in his element. The other day he just climbed into the Guyana attack and blasted them for 72 runs in just 30 balls with nine sixes.

When he gets going no bowler on earth would escape his bat. He packs tremendous power with out of this world timing and when the ball leaves his bat it sails well over the boundary and at times out of the ground.

The other day he pummeled the opposing bowling and it was mainly his ferocious hitting that gave the Mumbai Indians victory and kept their chances of entering the semi-final alive.

Pray for Leslie Fernando

‘Daily News’ and ‘Sunday Observer’ sports staffer Leslie Fernando is very ill and prayers are requested for his speedy recovery.

Fernando was a bundle of energy covering all sports and his knowledgeable articles were well received by the readers.

Fernando was a top sportsman during his time representing St.Benedict’s College as an opening batsman and meeting with success. On leaving school he joined the Colombo Municipality as a Playground Instructor and played for the CMC and Nomads.

Popularly called ‘Cowdrey’, he joined SBC from De La Salle College, Mutwal where he played under the captaincy of Lakshman Fernando. Some of his team mates were Maximus Abeynaike, Oswald Silva and Eustace Fernando.

In addition to excelling as an opening batsman, he was also a fine soccerite and was an excellent carrom player. He holds the record of being the most travelled journalist covering sports events for the ANCL Group.