Bruce Yardley A Good Buy For Sri Lankan Cricket (17 Dec 1996)

17 December 1996

Bruce Yardley A Good Buy For Our Cricket

Comment by Elmo Rodrigopulle

So after a bit of shopping for a coach in the cricketing bazaar, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board has finally settled for former Aussie allrounder Bruce Yardley to fill the void created by the premature defection of Dave Whatmore.

The signing of Yardley for over two years, finally ends speculation where many names were mentioned including Bob Simpson, Allan Lamb and Clive Rice.

The consensus is that the right choice has been made. Inside information has it that the man behind the successful negotiation and signing is the President of the CB Upali Dharmadasa. If that is true, then Dharmadasa could not have settled for a better signing.

HELP FROM HADLEE, MARSH

It is also understood that Sir Richard Hadlee and Rodney Marsh helped Dharmadasa in the shopping for a coach expedition. It was very sporting of this duo, to come to Sri Lanka`s aid in their time of need. The good deed is indeed appreciated.

Yardley has been here before as player and coach and knows the local cricketing scene well. He takes over from Whatmore who did wonders for the game and made us world champions in one-day cricket.

Yardley`s credentials as a coach are impeccable. He had a good run as a player and has proved a more than competent coach. However the fact remains that he is taking over the job when Sri Lanka`s cricket is in some kind of disarray.

UNENVIABLE JOB

Yardley jets into an unenviable job. It is too early to predict how he will fare. But he has the ability, the competence and the determination to come out trumps. Time will tell.

The new coach cannot succeed unless he has the fullest cooperation from every one of the players, the Cricket Board and all others involved in the game. We hope this will be dished out to Yardley in full measure so that the game will finally win.

Yardley`s first assignment will be to target a successful tour of New Zealand starting in February next year. Although we lost the one-day series, we beat the Kiwis in the Test series, which also signalled our first historic test win abroad. So Yardley will have to first manoeuvre continuity to the previous success.

WINNING COMBINATION

At the moment Sri Lanka has no international commitments to fulfill and the new coach has a lot of time to work with the poolists and finally settle for a combination that all hope will be a winning one.

Incidentally Yardley is best remembered, for the freak manner in which he bowled Ranjan Madugalle in a test match in Asgiriya. Madugalle padded an off break, only to see it climb up his body and roll down his back to bowl him. It was certainly a freak dismissal.

GALLING

Referring to the foreign scene it must have been galling to the South Africans to lose a test series since being admitted to the big league after shedding off their cruel apartheid laws.

India on the other hand maintained their winning sequence at home and it indeed must have been memorable moment for new skipper Sachin Tendulkar.

When the series stood one-all after the first two tests, Indians apparently used the home advantage to prepare a wicket to suit their game and capitalising on this, they had the South Africans undone in the final test.

SPEED BLITZ

India will soon be making it to South Africa for what is termed back-to-back tests. One need not speculate as to what sort of wickets the Indians will be up against. It will be fast wickets and the home team will unleash a speed blitz on the Indians. The sending home of the injured Allan Donald to recover is a signal.

While paceman Javagal Srinath keeps on improving, what was amazing and encouraging was the batting revelation of former Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin. One of the best batsmen in the world, the deposing as skipper seems to have been a blessing in disguise.

CAREFREE APPROACH

His approach now is carefree and he plays some audacious strokes, which he would not have played had he been captain. Fortune favours the brave it is said and now that he has been unchained, he unwinds in glorious stroke-play which has been a scoring point for Indian cricket.

In contrast what one sees writ on the face of new captain Tendulkar is responsibility. The way he bats in Tests it is apparent that he is pulling back his strokes, which in normal circumstances he would have played.

That is unfortunately the price one has to pay when saddled with responsibility. Ask only those who have worn the captaincy mantle and they will tell you that it is another kind of cricketing hell.

However once Tendulkar learns to cope with the pressure and responsibility, he has what it takes to be one of the best captain/batsman in world cricket.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)