The National - News

Sri Lanka Cricket’s problems myriad, says former manager Senanayake CRICKET

He tells Amith Passela reasons behind opting out midway from the Tests against England

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To say Sri Lanka cricket is at the lowest point would be something of an understate­ment.

Clean swept by England 3-0 in the recent Test series was just the third time Sri Lanka had suffered that ignominy on home soil. It followed a 3-1 loss in the five-match ODI series as well as the lone Twenty20 Internatio­nal.

The England humiliatio­n is just the latest in a series of setbacks that has left cricket on the island nation in crisis.

Sri Lanka failed to reach the Super Four stage in the Asia Cup in the UAE following defeats to Bangladesh and Afghanista­n and last year they suffered a first Test defeat to Bangladesh and were also embarrasse­d by Zimbabwe in an ODI series.

Sri Lanka’s plight is not just confined to pitch results. Offfield issues have contribute­d to the malaise too.

In the last three years, the team has gone through five captains and as many head coaches; there have been four batting coaches, five selection committees and the board has changed three times.

The Sri Lanka Cricket board is suspended and cricket is temporaril­y run by the Ministry of Sports until elections are held in December. That too is now in doubt with the ongoing political drama in the country.

When results are this bad heads usually roll. The first to fall on his sword was Charith Senanayake, who resigned as team manager following the 211-run defeat to England in the first Test in Galle earlier this month.

“England were coming off a [home] series win against India despite different conditions. They are a top team who deserves all the credit,” Senanayake told The National.

“We could have done better perhaps, yes, had we capitalise­d on certain situations, thought better, reacted quickly on [our] feet and played fearless cricket with confidence.”

Another area of concern seems to be a drought of emerging talent to fill the huge voids left by Muttiah Muralithar­an, Mahela Jayawarden­e and Kumar Sangakkara, while veteran spinner Rangana Herath, 40, retired from internatio­nal career after the first Test.

Senanayake said a lack of planning by the SLC, as well as unwelcome outside interferen­ce in its governance, were all factors in Sri Lanka’s predicamen­t. “The cricketing structures must ensure proper progressio­n of players from school to clubs and then to national level,” said the former Sri Lanka internatio­nal.

He said the need was for a “proper management in place with the right people managing without outside influences.

“Of course when things go wrong, usually heads roll. It’s a common scenario in this part of the world, without identifyin­g the core issues. Changing pillows for a headache is not the solution in my view.”

Senanayake’s resignatio­n after the first Test came as something of a shock. Working alongside coach Chandika Hathurusin­ghe, who opened the batting alongside Senanayake when the latter made his Test debut against New Zealand in 1991, seemed to offer, from the outside at least, stability.

However, after learning during the match that he would not be in the touring party for Sri Lanka’s upcoming tours Senanayake said his position became untenable.

“During the first Test in Galle, I got to know, through the media, that I was taken out of the forthcomin­g tours to New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the West Indies,” he said.

“When asked for reasons from SLC, I was informed that due to lapses in communicat­ion with support staff my stay with the team was detrimenta­l.

“That’s the reason I decided to leave after the first Test, hoping nothing but the best for the team.

“In my view, the team, institutio­n and country is bigger than any individual’s personal glory or interest.

“What I thought about my relationsh­ip with Hathu, perhaps I was wrong. In hindsight, maybe I should never have accepted the offer initially.”

Senanayake has not given up hopes of a return under a different management, though.

His most recent stint was his fourth time working for the SLC.

“Cricket is my passion and I am not there for any other benefit, being the lowest paid member of the staff,” he said.

“If called to serve under a different management, I definitely will. To be fair, SLC too have invested heavily in me, and it is my duty to give it back and share my experience.”

Sri Lanka’s next tour is to New Zealand for two Tests which starts from December 15 followed by three ODIs and a oneoff T20.

 ??  ?? Malinda Pushpakuma­ra gets hit on the helmet by Stuart Broad
Malinda Pushpakuma­ra gets hit on the helmet by Stuart Broad
 ??  ?? Charith Senanayake, centre, has resigned in his fourth stint with Sri Lanka Cricket. He has blamed talent drain, outside interferen­ce and lack of planning as his reasons
Charith Senanayake, centre, has resigned in his fourth stint with Sri Lanka Cricket. He has blamed talent drain, outside interferen­ce and lack of planning as his reasons

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