Selectors in courageous act to make way for youngsters

A most welcome and courageous stand is the determination of the Cricket Selectors, led by former Captain and dashing right hand master blaster Duleep Mendis, that they are determined to toss in youngsters in the one-day squad to play the Pakistanis in desert country.

The cry now is for the promising youngsters who are starved of international exposure to be blooded. Sri Lanka is teeming with youngsters crying out for opportunity, recognition and reward. Sri Lanka's future fortunes are in the hands of the youngsters. And they must be given their spurs when they are among the runs and the wickets.

The new set of selectors who took office with the will to do things to see that Sri Lanka cricket reaches the top once again and who was given a free hand and a mandate by Minister of Sport Mahindananda Aluthgamage are eager to do their job without fear or favour however powerful or indispensable the individual is or individuals are.

First step

As a first step a selector says that they are not playing fair by leaving out Dinesh Chandimal from the international scene. This highly talented wicket keeper batsman will not have long to wait and will do the glove work in the upcoming one-day series against Pakistan.

That means Kumar Sangakkara at 34, will be in the squad only as a batsman. Sangakkara who handed over wicket keeping duties to Prasanna Jayawardena in Test cricket, has since been able to make big runs as a dedicated batsman and seems more than comfortable in this role .

Chandimal showed his immense prowess when he blasted England, fronting up their best pace attack with a eye catching century at the Lords, the holy land of cricket, on the recent tour.

Many former England cricketers who watched this innings were amazed with his daring stroke play and predicted a bright future for him, provided he is persisted with.

More youngsters

The selectors are also contemplating playing more youngsters, not worried with the result of the games, because they are convinced that they must dare and play the youngsters and give them the exposure, if they are to gain the necessary experience,to blossom and to deliver.

Cricket fans in Sri Lanka like the cricket fans in India are cricket mad and the selectors are assured of their support in their endeavour to take cricket to what it was in the not too distant past. But this progression will come at a cost as short term expediency will need to be sacrificed in the interest of long term development of our game.

Look at Australia and Pakistan. Both countries are tossing in youngsters and they are delivering. This augurs well for their future.

Australia, especially have made headway with the youngsters as their tour of Sri Lanka and now South Africa shows.

Hive of activity

At the moment there is a hive of cricket activity taking place in every big time cricket playing centres in some form or the other.

Australia are playing South Africa in SA, India are hosting England, New Zealand are the guests of Zimbabwe, West Indies are playing Bangladesh in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are fronting up to Pakistan on a neutral venue in Abu Dhabi.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan and West Indies and Bangladesh are playing what the game is all about -Test cricket- while the other teams are involved in the 'cowboy' game with coloured clothing, white balls and black sightscreens.

The Test venues of Abu Dhabi was played to empty houses on the first three days, with cricket fans mostly Pakistanis flocking to watch the cricket on Friday which is a holiday there. There was a better crowd in Bangladesh watching their cricketers attempting to raise their game.

Cooking the Brits

In the one day games, India who were humiliated and suffered a dent in their highly rated cricket fortunes having the daylights thrashed by England in the Test series and one-day series in England.

They are virtually cooking the Brits led by Alastair Cook and making a sumptuous meal by hammering them in the first four one-dayers in a five-match series, leaving the remaining game to be of academic interest.

It is apparent that the Indians are approaching every game with a vengeance. The shame that the Brits slapped on the Indians was unpalatable and it shocked and stunned them considering that they were one of best in the established game and world champions in the one-day format.

The highly rated Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the losing captain is now determined to give the Brits a dose of their own medicine.

What is creditable and admirable in the Indians is that they are proving to other cricketers and countries that no team should cringe or crumble when playing in their territory. At home no team should surrender. But the greatness of a team is shown if they are capable of playing at home and away and winning. That is the hallmark of a dream team. But how many teams can do that in the present circuit?

Australia on the up and up

The Australians after their successful tour of Sri Lanka under new captain Michael Clarke seem to be improving their game by the day.

Packed with youngsters who are full of potential and promise, the Aussies, after winning the first Twenty20 were unfortunate to lose the second game after having the Proteas on the ropes at 84 for 7 chasing for victory. The eighth wicket pair of Theron and Wayne Parnell hit out lustily to help their team breast the tape first and equal the series.

In the first 50 over game, which was rain affected which warranted that dreaded pair of Duckworth and Lewis pad up, Australia beat South Africa to go one-up in the five match series at the time of writing.

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