Changes essential, but its got to be rational says Sidath (5 July 1999)

5 July 1999

Changes essential, but its got to be rational says Sidath

Sa'adi Thawfeeq

"We want to make the changes, but it should be done fairly sensibly. We don't want to change for the sake of changing. Without giving the wheel a full turn, we should turn it half. First we do the minor squeeze and then go to the bigger one," said Wettimuny, who resumed his new position following the aftermath of Sri Lanka's disastrous showing in the recently concluded World Cup.

"We should be looking in the long term. Our thinking is to have some sort of consistency in whatever we do. It should be rational. We are playing Australia, the world champions in Test and one-day cricket and if we get thrashed after making radical changes, the psychological blow can be too much to take too soon. It would bring down the whole thing you are trying to build," said Wettimuny.

"We can't make a team turn around 100 degrees in one month. Changes are necessary but it should be done in a gentler way. We don't want a situation where the new captain is going to be psychologically trampled before he goes on the next tour. We have to protect that aspect as well. It is a very delicate scenario," he said.

"There is no way that we are going to retain all the senior players. We will certainly have a balance with a few new players coming in. Some of the senior players have performed better than most. I would rather give them the benefit of the doubt, but watch them like hawks. If we can still extract some quality cricket from them, then why not.

"Some of these guys have got a little bit too complacent and thought they are there forever. Most of these guys think they are still too good to be dropped. They will get the shock of their lives when they realise it isn't going to be the case. Things are not going to look as permanent as they think," said Wettimuny.

The first priority of the selection committee which also comprises Ashantha de Mel, Brendon Kuruppu and Tikiri Banda Kehelgamuwa, is to pick the captain for the one-day triangular and the Australian Test series.

"Historically, we have a huge problem of seniority. If I am five years older to someone I stay five years older for the rest of my life. This trend has to be broken. It is a weakness in the system. The elder brother hierarchy has caused all sorts of problems. In the past vice-captains have been a waste of time. He comes with the captain and goes with the captain, leaving a huge vacuum. They always come in pairs - Mendis and Dias and, Ranatunga and De Silva.

"There is no pressure put on the captain to know that there is a vice-captain always ready to take his place. I seriously think that should change," said Wettimuny.

After picking the captain the selectors will name a squad of players, which according to Wettimuny will initially be a broad one because 16 potential players are already in England. "After we've seen their performances in England the squad will be pruned down to around 20," he said.

"Our thinking is if we bring somebody we must give him a fair run. If we bring in a batsman for example he must have at least six innings to play. With one or two innings you just don't get anywhere. The same applies to the bowlers. We will have to try to sustain and say go through with it even with the pain.

"Take Shane Warne. In the first two matches of the 1992 series our batsmen used to wait for him. By the third Test last innings he just changed and became a world beater. The Australian selectors had the confidence to pursue. Similarly we also must pick some bowlers and give them a fair run and hope they come off," Wettimuny said. The 'A' team, he said is a feeder to the national team and "we need to build a situation like a shadow cabinet so that you are all the time having replacements for whatever situations".

"One area we are desperately working on is to find a complimentary bowler to Muthiah Muralitharan. We will have to take a few chances in that area. We have far too often gone into matches with an imbalanced attack. There are three bowlers in the 'A' team we are hoping will compliment Murali. I must say the spin department has been a little sad.

"Whatever is said and done, the fact remains the World Cup is the biggest event in cricket today. Even though we say Test cricket is the biggest event in many aspects the World Cup is the thing. Everybody seems to have their attention focussed on that. The World Cup is one thing we've got to look at despite all the Test cricket in between," said Wettimuny.

The former Sri Lanka Test opener who entered the record books by making the highest-ever individual score in his first appearance in a Test at Lord's - 190 against England in 1984, said undertaking the chairman of selectors' job was not one he envied. "My co-committee members insisted I take it. They felt that it is going to be a difficult time and they had enough confidence in me," said Wettimuny who turns 43 on August 12.

"My thinking is in every group of players comes a rise and a fall. We are now on a bit of a decline. In many ways a natural decline. All good sides peak and then have a dip. There comes a time when one needs to make a few changes and infuse some new blood. It is going to be a very tough period. There will be quite a few heartaches I am sure," he said.

Wettimuny who is also an International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee will not be getting any appointments until he finishes his term as a selector in March.

For the first time the chairman of selectors said that he will call a press conference after each selection is approved. This has not been the practice of past chairman of selectors.

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