Cricket debacle - one last word (25 July 1999)

25 July 1999

Cricket debacle - one last word

Malsiri Kurukulasuriya

We have recently inundated newspapers with articles by prophets of every persuasion claiming to have the answers to our cricket debacle.

I would like to touch on a few matters that were ignored in the rush to find fault with Arjuna and his "boys".

Not enough was done to analyse the performance of the administration, who after all are the custodians of Sri Lanka's cricketing destiny. The performance of Mr. Sumathipala in the panel discussion was quite revealing. He gave the impression that he had the answers to all our problems and all that was needed was another term in office for him and his "team" to bring Sri Lanka back to the glory days. On his performance he would not get my vote. At no time did he say what magic he had to substantiate this outrageous claim.

How many of the general public were aware of the board's expenditures to build a stadium at Dambulla and expand the grounds at Darawella? Not many.

The stadium in Dambulla has the hallmark of huge white elephant. Mr. Sumathipala said the rationale behind his project was to have a facility for cricket all year round. My questions to him are:

1. Who is going to travel these distances to watch a cricket match when they can do so in the comfort of their home?

2. Dambulla has no sporting tradition. There is not even a cricket playing school in the vicinity.

3. What about accommodation for spectators travelling from far away. There is a five star Kandalama hotel with about 50 rooms. When the two teams, officials and other VIP's move in, the public will have a 6 room Rest House available!! Can you imagine how ridiculous this whole project is? It might be interesting to find out who was the owner of the land on which this complex stands. The Darawella expansion makes much more sense and should be supported.

Whatever happened to the investigation regarding the million-dollar pay out made by World Tel for exclusive TV rights for Sri Lanka's home games? Seems to have been swept under the carpet!

Let us now get back to cricket. One of the greatest weaknesses in our national squad is the absence of top all-rounders. What we have now are batsmen who can bowl a bit. With some hard work Mahela, Chandana and Vaas may fit the bill, but they are at least 2 years away from reaching the required standard. On the other hand they may not make it. In the interim we will have to field unbalanced teams. The top teams have one or more good all-rounders. South Africa have Kallis, Pollock and Kluesner; Paksitan have Razzaq, Azar Mahmood, Australia have Steve Waugh (when fit), Bevan and Moody.

To produce all-rounders after a man reaches the national squad is tough, or even impossible. This has to commence much earlier.

The Board pays lips service to the development of outstation cricket: What have they done? They have built a few concrete pitches and donated some equipment. They have to be unbelievably naive to think this will improve standards.

The biggest shortcoming is the lack of cohesive program for the under 17 and 19 squads. These are the nurseries from which our national teams depend for their survival. By the time a boy leaves school at the age of 18 or 19, they must have the basics well drilled. It is very difficult and time consuming to make corrections on boys at this age. That is why the Board must take the initiative to establish pools for these groups.

Colombo should have two pools for each group; Kandy, Kurunegala, and Galle should one each. An inter-district tournament should take place so that the selectors could have a first hand look at the available talent. I suggest that the Board should fund this project because the local administrators show no interest in this type of venture. It is hard to believe that in the past 10 years only 2 outstation players (Sanath and Murali) have been able to hold their places in the national team. This is a sad reflection of our player development programmes.

I feel that in all the recriminations that has followed the World Cup, too much attention has been directed at Arjuna and the team; and not enough on the root causes of the problems that Arjuna inherited through no fault of his.

It is time the other culprits should now stand up and be counted. They must, along with the others already condemned, face the same music.

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