Pure bowling and fielding let us down (20 January 1999)

20 January 1999

Pure bowling and fielding let us down

P Epasinghe

What went wrong with the Sri Lankan cricketers so far in the Carlton United one day series in Australia?

At the SCG, the Lankans after scoring 259 for 9 in 50 overs, lost to Australia badly. The main reason was their poor bowling and fielding performances. Further, they lacked the all-important commitment, determination, fighting spirit and the willingness to win. Non-availability of Aravinda de Silva can also be considered as a contributory factor for their downfall so far.

The forte of Sri Lankan cricketers is their batting. But, to win matches, even with a meadicore bowling side, your fielding must be of a very high standard. Even half a chance must be held on to. A major part of cricket is fielding and one of the most difficult aspects of it is that you have to concentrate on every ball. You may have only one opportunity for a catch or run-out in a complete day's play. It can be missed by loss of concentration in a single delivery. That moment of dreaming could cost you the match.

In a limited-overs game, every run counts. Fielders in every position must be able to stop and pick up cleanly any ball that comes their way. Two hands are always better than one. A fielder can forget this rule, when he is attempting a run-out, and speed may be his first consideration. Sometimes, three runs saved may not seem very much at a time, but definitely it can often mean the difference between victory and defeat.

There is no rhyme or reason to write off Sri Lanka from the Carlton United Series still. They have eight more games in which to qualify for the finals.

It was rather unfortunate that Roshan Mahanama is going through a bad patch. Before the last encounter against Australia at Sydney, Mahanama had played in 202 One Day Internationals. He is only short of 61 for his 5000 runs. He has 4 centuries and 34 half centuries to his credit. Not a bad record at all, but he must build up his confidence.

I personally feel that, if Mahanama is playing, he should go at No. 4 or 5 and not at No. 8, with just five or six overs remaining. As Aravinda de Silva is not there, if Mahanama is playing he should play a sheet anchor role. This will help consistent run-getter Hashan Tillekeratne, skipper Arjuna Ranatunga and Upul Chandana to pile up the runs with confidence. It's heartening to note Sanath, Romesh bubbling with so much confidence.

One must not forget that Mahanama, who once opened the Sri Lankan innings, was shuffled to various positions in the batting order. Being one of the best fielders in the world, Mahanama is an asset for any side. Sometimes, his vast experience will be very useful to the side.

The inter-school Big-Matches will commence in the first week of March.

Out of all the Big-Matches the biggest attraction and the pinnacle of school big-matches will be the 120th Battle of the Blues - the traditional Royal-Thomian encounter. It's more than a big match. Not only for the Royalists and Thomians, it is a social event in the sporting calendar of the country. True greatness of this traditional encounter lies in combat and comradeship combined. The innocent fun, merry - making are all part of the game. What matters for the Royalists and Thomians is not winning or losing, but how the game is played.

The Royal-Thomian cricket encounter is known as the second oldest annual cricket encounter in the world. Undoubtedly, it is the oldest uninterrupted annual inter-school big match in Sri Lanka. It was started in the year 1879, and up-to-date played uninterrupted so far.

I have been one of the members of that distinguished commentary team on radio for the past one and half decades on the Royal-Thomian encounter. A big bouquet should go out to both schools, their students and teachers, old boys and well-wishers for the high standard of discipline they maintained in the last year's big-match. The behaviour was excellent. This was mainly due to the efforts and excellent planning and organisation skills of the dynamic joint committee of the old boys of the two institutions. It is happy to note that this year too they are continuing the good work to raise the standard of discipline to the highest level in this year's big match.

Many old boys of Royal and S. Thomas (even from abroad) will be here to see this historic encounter. The organisation and planning of this year's joint committee of old-boys will go out to make this year's Royal-Thomian a memorable one.

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