Time for the real change
The latest twists in the tale of Sri Lanka’s cricket finally unfolded itself last week when, as expected, Mahela Jayawardene and Graham Ford were appointed as captain and coach of the team, bringing an end to the criticised and yet equally praised shake up of the cricket team.
A month of significant change began with the first election of officials at Sri Lanka Cricket in seven years – though many argue that it has not changed the real ‘power’ behind the game – before the axing of the selection committee and team manager, finally ending with Jayawardene’s and Ford’s appointment, done with the hope of reversing the for tunes of the under-performing team. Such is the optimism in the success of this change, that the relevant ministry shamelessly allowed itself to be branded as liars, preferring to play its cards close to its chest quashing claims of the ‘shake-up’ just a few hours before the minister approved the new selection panel.
All these changes are well and good, but only if there is a change in the quality of cricket and the consistency of the team on the field. As one analyst on the popular cricket website Cricinfo implied, the changes will have little impact if there is the same amount of government meddling in the running of the game, par ticularly when it is done by those who have no legitimate interest in the spor t and the team.
Both changes, that of captain and coach, had brought up its own questions, which have yet to be satisfactorily answered. Sri Lanka Cricket, perhaps through its own cleverness, did not officially appoint the – by then obvious – new coach, Graham Ford, till the eleventh hour, a day before Sri Lanka took flight to Australia, thus avoiding a media barrage on the newly appointed . man, perhaps fearing that he may shy away just as he infamously did when he landed in India in 2009.
This however makes for the star t of an exciting period in the country’s aspirations, which will star t where it could all end in 2015 – Australia.
Despite losing the recent series to South Africa 2-3, Sri Lanka would have been the happier team, having lost the series by only four runs, cour tesy of a much maligned mathematical equation that is only functional due to the lack of a better alternative. The highlight, as was pointed out by then captain Tillakaratne Dilshan and which rightly earned a fair amount of press space, was the development of and the initiative shown by the younger players, a relief given the poor form of some of the seniors.
The upcoming triangular series will be an acid test for this young team. Facing Sri Lanka would be two of the toughest challengers – one reveling in new-found success, the other a wounded animal out to redeem itself. There is little doubt that Sri Lanka will not have much success in the eight preliminary matches it plays in this extended series, but these games should be used to map out the long-term direction of the team, before it returns there in just over three years for the World Cup.
Hosts Australia will be favourites, having easily swept away India in the four-match Test series with a make-shift bowling unit, proving that the former world champions are heading in the right direction. India who are, not forgetting, the World champions will look to redeem itself following possibly its worst run in away tests, though they will be without Yuvraj Singh who is being treated for a tumour on his lung. But like the Australians, they have had to comprehend with the services of youngsters, due to injuries to some of the seniors, with players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav giving the a good account of themselves.
Considering that the Sri Lankan bowling is far from world-class, with a formidable assistant to Lasith Malinga still to be found, the bowlers are likely to find it difficult to cope with the conditions in Australia. In that eventuality, the onus will yet again fall on the experience of the batsmen who, as proven in recent series, have not been contributing as much required from them, though confidence will be high having chased 300 in the last two innings. Sri Lanka could also toy with the addition of a third specialist all-rounder, following the recall of Farveez Maharoof, which will surely be an added bonus to the batting.
Jayawardene’s assumption of captaincy is an irony. Dilshan was criticised for his poor form with the bat in the last few series, an offence Jayawardene himself is guilty of. And having not played the last two matches, where Sri Lanka chased down targets exceeding 300, Jayawardene’s return in going to cause a headache to selectors, who have a tough decision to make as to who to drop from the team. The obvious victim would be the man who replaced him, Lahiru Thirimanne – harsh given Thirimanne was integral in the success in the last ODI. Dilshan on the hand, not having the immunity of captaincy, will now be under close scrutiny and we no doubt feel immense pressure as he fights to keep his career alive.
Jayawardene assured that if he would not continue in the team if he was not contributing to the team, and claimed the captaincy for only for a year, by which time Sri Lanka would logically need to have a new captain ready to take over. The candidate ear marked to lead the team in the 2015 World Cup, Angelo Mathews, has been average the teams two most recent tours, in the UAE against Pakistan and in South Africa, scoring just 176 runs in 10 one-day matches, though what is more alarming than the statistics is his poor choice of shots. This upcoming series should answer some impor tant questions regarding the team, and indeed the captaincy. The selectors should be prepared to look at other upand-coming to take over the team, if Mathews does not prove that his own skills will not be in jeopardy if given that responsibility.