Chappell: Lanka can become a force in Test cricket (7 Sep 1996)

Saturday 07, September 1996

Lanka can become a force in Test cricket: Chappell ranks Arjuna highly as captain

by Sa'adi Thawfeeq

"If Ravindra Pushpakumara keeps improving the way he has and with a little bit of planning you can develop a good wrist spinner, then I think Sri Lanka will be a much improved Test side,'' said former Australian captain Ian Chappell.

While accepting Sri Lanka as the no. 1 team in one-day cricket Chappell said there were some improvements to be made for them to become a force in Test cricket.

"Pushpakumara is a sort of bowler who bowls well on hard pitches like Australia. He gets a bit of bounce and he is quite lively. That would give you a very good opening attack,'' said Chappell, who was also impressed with the progress made by left-arm fast bowler Chaminda Vaas.

"The improvement Vaas has shown in a short time, he seems to be getting better and better with every match in Australia. He is also another important member in the Sri Lankan side,'' Chappell said.

"If he keeps improving and maintains his fitness there is no reason why he should not be a very good bowler in international cricket,'' he said.

Chappell lauded Sri Lanka skipper Arjuna Ranatunga and said the country's status today as the top one-day team was largely due to him.

"I think the guy whose got to take a lot of credit for Sri Lanka's rise to the top in one-day cricket is Ranatunga. I believe in captains who lead and Arjuna is a good leader,'' he said.

AGGRESSIVE PLAYER

"Arjuna is an aggressive cricketer. He has got around him a team of aggressive players now. He has also stood up for himself in international company. That has helped to give the rest of the team confidence that they can compete with the best of players,'' said Chappell.

"I think Arjuna must take a lot of credit for moulding this team into World Cup champions''.

Being an aggressive and forthright captain during his time, Chappell saw a lot of his qualities in Arjuna.

"The first time I saw him captain in Australia, probably in the late eighties, I was impressed with his captaincy. One day's play that stands out in my mind was the Test match at Belerieve Oval, when Rumesh Ratnayake got 6 for 66. I thought Arjuna captained the side brilliantly that day,'' he said.

Chappell said that captains cannot be judged by just looking at the results.

"A good captain can be in charge of an ordinary team. So in my book to judge a captain, you got to work out whether he gets the best out of the team. I think in that regard, Arjuna ranks very highly. I believe he always got the best out of his team,'' said Chappell.

Vice captain Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya are the other Sri Lankan cricketers whom Chappell had praise for.

"I've always admired Aravinda de Silva's ability. But I'm a bit disappointed that he hasn't done more with it. I think he should average 45 at Test level. He is a good enough player to do that,'' he said.

"In the last few months I think, he is starting to fully realise his potential. He is playing some very important innings in big matches because he's got his concentration together''.

"The moment his concentration matches his skill he will always be a very good player because he has tons of skill. It was just a matter of gathering his concentration,'' said Chappell.

SANATH EXCITING

"Sanath Jayasuriya has been an important player in the Sri Lankan rise to the top. He is very exciting. I had the good fortune to see his two good innings in Singapore and, I haven't seen anything that is more exciting than that on the cricket field,'' he said.

Chappell is in Sri Lanka commentating on the Singer World Series for World Tel. He played in 75 Tests for Australia (30 of them as captain) and scored 5345 runs (average 42.42) with 14 hundreds and 26 fifties. He also held 105 catches, mostly at slips and took 20 wickets with spin. As captain, he won 15 Tests and lost only five with 10 draws.

Chappell never really thought about becoming a TV cricket commentator when his international playing career ended in 1975-76. He believes he got the urge to become a commentator through his grandfather Victor Richardson, a former Australian cricketer.

"I guess it probably came in with the genes. My grandfther was a sports commentator,'' he said.

"There is nothing like the excitement of actually playing the game. Once you stop playing, it is nice to remain involved in the game that you love. I never had the urge to play from the moment I retired,'' said the 52-year-old Chappell, who commbines his career as a TV commentator by doing a bit of writing as well.

"Playing cricket and commentating is similar in a lot of ways. Playing was good training for commentary. If you lost concentration as a batsman you got out. If you lose concentration as a commentator, you will make a mistake,'' he said.

The difference of playing and commentating, Chappell said was that one was a sport and the other a job. "I never wanted to play cricket for a living. I just enjoyed it as a sport''.

Chappell said he liked the SSC for its atmosphere and compared it to the Kennington Oval in Barbados. R. Premadasa Stadium he said, was a good ground and added that it would be fantastic if it was full for the final.

"The thing I like about the Sri Lankan crowds is the music and the colour they bring to cricket. To me, that is a terrific part of the game,'' Chappell said.

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