Death by failure of the batsmen

If a post-mortem is held to find out the cause that led to the Sri Lankan cricketers demise in the First of Three Tests against South Africa on Saturday the Coroner’s report will surely have the diagnosis: VERY POOR BATTING TECHNIQUE. It would add that spineless batting caused the collapse of this ailing patient.

The demise was most embarrassing to all those who rooted for the Lankan team.

What was all the more embarrassing was that the Sri Lanka batsmen could not bat for more than two sessions in each of their innings.

Shot out for 180 in the first innings, the Lankans crawled to 150 in the second innings to lose by an innings and 81 runs with more than two and a half days to spare. The loss in financial terms can be counted in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Well deserved

Vernon Philander’s match figures of 10 for 102 which earned him the man-of-the match award was well deserved.

Before the Test skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan said that he had not seen a wicket as green as the one that was the wicket at the Centurion. In a way Dilshan was showing his naivety.

For Dilshan to see a green wicket, the curators here must be told to prepare wickets like that. We have been lulled into being world beaters playing on shirt front wickets.

The South Africans were justified in preparing a green top to suit their menacing pacemen. They used the unwritten law where a home team is entitled to prepare wickets to suit their strength.

Batting pop guns

The big batting guns in the Lankan armoury - Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, Thilan Samaraweera, Kaushal Silva and Thisara Perera were pop guns against Dale Steyn, Vernon Phiander and Morne Morkel.

It was a sad indictment on the batsmen that they could not face the pace, the seam and swing. They showed a sad lack of basic ability to get in line with the moving ball, before executing.

At this level and with tons of experience, it was SHAME, SHAME, SHAME as the “Sunday Observer” quite rightly headlined their story on the batting debacle that left all Sri Lankans shame faced.

Shame faced

While the collapse was a poor lesson in batting, the Lankan pacemen instead of taking a lesson from the South African bowlers and exploiting the wicket, were not making the opponent batsmen to play the ball, but were giving wicket keeper Silva fielding practice.

To add to their woes the fielding, especially the catching was putrid. How the three aspects of the Sri Lankan game can be so woefully weak is inexplicable. We predicted that the game could end inside three days. Need we say more.

Former South African captain Keplar Wessels sounded the SA selectors to front up an ‘A’ team against the Lankans. He was spot on.

Startling allegations

Former “Matara Mauler”, Sanath Jayasuriya and Minister of Sport Mahindananda Aluthgamage made allegations that were startling as reasons for Sri Lanka’s cricketing debacles in recent times. Both made these statements in Parliament.

Jayasuriya who has been in the cauldron for long as player and captain said that it was the politics in the team that have brought about the downfall of the players and the game and not political interferences. And Jayasuriya knows being a Member of Parliament.

Then the Sports Minister, told Parliament that undue influence by player agents, squad politics and bickering was to blame for the cricket team’s plummeting form.

Miscommunication

The Minister also added that by the players’ own admission, disunity and miscommunication were causing the team’s losing streak and not Government interference, as claimed by some disgruntled critics.

Everywhere cricket fans gathered, the above allegations made by Jayasuriya and the Minister were the talking points on the streets, market places and at clubs and in schools.

But these allegations gathered momentum and finally came true after the elevation of Tillakaratne Dilshan as captain. Dilshan did not canvass for this post. With Captain Kumar Sangakkara bowing out after the 2011 World Cup, the selectors had no other option but to hand over the Captaincy to Dilshan.

Lacking support

From that moment miscommunication between the captain and the chief coach, and the other coaches, no proper communication between the senior and junior players and the captain not getting the fullest support from the senior players emerged.

Little wonder then that the game that was not long ago the envy of other cricketing nations nose diving and now in tatters, with no indication of hitting the top once again.

To put the game back on Winning Street again will require some fundamental and courageous decisions.

If the game is to raise its head again, then the cricketers must put their heads together, forget all differences and play as one attacking and fearless force for the game and country.

Astute leadership to manage this process is critical. And the time has come where chages will be inevitable.

Former glamour

And it is only then that we can hope for the game to reach its former glamour and glory. Cricketers and cricket crazy fans have lost interest in the game after the constant defeats against England, Australia and Pakistan and unless all concerned put their shoulders to the wheel and push for success, the game will continue to be in cricket’s land of no return which will be sad.

Even after everything is done and yet the results are poor, then the Minister and the selectors and all concerned with the game must not cringe but act fearlessly and make the changes and eradicate the cancer that is killing the game. Needless to say that only those who DARE win.

Having played the game at premier levels, and having been the first to score a century when limited over cricket was first introduced to the country and contested for the Brown’s Trophy in 1972 and with over four decades of cricket commenting this column can vouch that the time to act with courage is now. Its time also to take to task those who need to be dealt with without fear or favour.

If not many other devastating Coroner’s reports should be expected!

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