Much New Year resolve for Sri Lanka cricket team

Entering a new year certainly Sri Lanka could do with a loadful of new goodies in its bag in the island nation’s cricketing thrust to the future. The year 2009 not having the best of years for the islanders entering 2010 with but just over the calendar year before the 2011 of course the focus needs to be heavily slanted that way. And in that direction the Sri Lankan juggernaut has much on the platter to muse over. Importantly, the core question revolving around in this final build-up to one-day cricket’s biggest extravaganza will be finecombing for the best available eleven; therein the crux of it being whether the national selectors are going for the old broomsticks like Jayasuriya and Muralidaran who have been regulars in the Lankan international scenario, Sanath in the final ODI against India reaching a record 20 years in international cricket, and Muralidaran 17 years at that level, in their usual formula of mixing long drawn experience with youth. Or is the alternative to dump the old guard for a new guard that would wring in the fragrance of youth to go with the experience of the twosome of Skipper Kumar Sangakkara and former captain Mahela Jayawardene.
Perhaps, in this soul searching journey our selectors could well take a leaf from her neighbours India which has shaken the holocaust of three years ago that it experienced, in a redefining drive that has lifted its cricket to the top of the world. Importantly they focusing on youth. In this bold drive the Indian authorities were quick to throw out of the window its old guard, even the world’s greatest batsman Sachin Tendulkar in that re-build placing total faith in a virtual newcomer in the youthful Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a systematic transition that saw Tendulkar carefully redrafted into the ODI team, obviously recognising that he was a genius who had much more to offer, but essentially after the house had been put in order . An Indian ascension has reached fruition today with Dhoni and company eclipsing Test cricket’s longtime powerhouse Australia to the Everest of Test team standings and to No.2 in ODI standings.
A post mortem of Sri Lanka’s recent tour debacle in India, where the country lost both the Test and one-day series must with it serve as a clear eye opener to the selectors as areas to be plugged.
While the batting has come out in patches of individual performances it has failed to click as a unit while so has been the bowling and fielding which led to that debacle, with Indian skipper Dhoni himself having remarked after some matches that the Sri Lankan fielding was ‘fishy’.
Therein, while I trust that every aspect would be reviewed in the build-up to the 2011 World Cup, the Indian tour and ones before that would very well serve in highlighting that the pathway to the next world cup. The advent of Angelo Mathews is a stark reminder of that fact where the former St. Joseph’s College, Colombo product has showcased youthful brimstone, particularly with the bat while being mediocre with the ball as a medium pacie who when he just stepped into international duty came up with three wickets in his very first over in the Twenty/ 20 World Cup on English shores. Since then Mathews has not shown the same type of consistency that propelled him to the forefront like a circus performer. Perhaps it has been the strain of too much cricket which was reflected with Mathews pulling out of the last two ODIs due to a groin injury. Quick on the heels of Mathews has been the entry of Tissara Perera who showed the difference that youth makes clobbering a quickfire 31 in the fourth match against India in lifting Sri Lanka to a score of 315.
A player, who broke into international cricket playing for the Sri Lanka Under-19 XI, Tissara is also future allround material having opened the bowling for the U-19 XI.
Another batsman breathing down hard on the selectors is batsman Lahiru Tirimanne, a former Cambrian and Sri Lanka A player who has made an imposing dominance of the concluded domestic club tournament and similarly in the ongoing provincial tournament. This left hander has shown the hallmarks of a top batsman in the making by his strokeplay and run accumulation and deserves the type of break that would not only justify his worth but also add muscle to the Sri Lanka batting department.
One of the big positives that Sri Lanka can take from the Indian tour is the re-emergence of opening batsman Upul Tharanga. Shackled and bound out of international cricket in the top flight stage since he lost his place soon after the 2007 world cup, Tharanga went through a harrowing journey regaining his place, and once he got that opportunity at long last at the expense of Jayasuriya, Dilshan grabbed it with both hands stroking a coupe of half centuries before getting into top gear in the fourth ODI at Kolkota to signal that he was back at hs best. Importantly, Tharanga had in those early days underlined the potential in him that form was not going to desert him forever in vindicating the saying that ‘form is temporary, but class permanent.’
In the bowling department, while a potential replacement for the likes of Chaminda Vaas has not yet arrived, the closest to that is Chanaka Welagedera and it must be hoped the bowling coach and coach Baylis would pay the necessary attention in further grooming this pair to destructive heights in that build-up. While the much talked of Dhammika Prasad for sheer pace has not made much of an impression and being injury prone, the career of Lasith Malinga going on his lackluster performance in India seems to be on the line blotched by overweight and loss of accuracy and the fire power the slinger once had batsmen hopping. Thilina Thushara also seems to be another victim of too much cricket losing the consistency he brought with him to the game, and this must glaringly raise the question as to the handling of Farveez Maharoof. Maharoof came into the Sri Lanka side as a potential allrounder and he was quick to stabilise himself in the team with some considerable movement of the ball, both inswing and outswing. Here, too too much dependence seemed to be placed on Maharoof which progressively had its effects on a promising career that resultantly saw the youngster lose his place. But little seems to be done to nurse this promising player back on track and that is a sad thing for our cricket. The likes of Maharoof must not be left to whither away. It is hoped the Lankan bowling juggernaut will get its act together in restoring Maharoof back to peak condition.
In the most important of all areas - fielding, the outlook f the team’s fielding was disgraceful and the captain set a bad example missing key stumpings in particular as most of the fielders grassed catches and were slow on the field. This is an area the Sri Lanka was so proud of in bolstering its one-day game and it is upto the players and the coaches to ensure that this is not repeated.