The cricketers must keep their heads, while others are losing theirs (5 May 1999)

5 May 1999

The cricketers must keep their heads, while others are losing theirs

Elmo Rodrigopulle

It is nice to be back from Goa, India after a two-week stay as media coordinator and get back to my pet subject cricket, and the World Cup that is due to begin in England on May 14 with the holders Sri Lanka taking on England at Lord's.

That the Sri Lankan team is in a crisis, there is no doubt. But if they can keep their heads, while others are losing theirs, there is no reason why they cannot come back with the trophy they won in Lahore in 1996.

Like the sage said: Often the best of courage is not to die but to live.

The cricketers must treat their recent failures as a part of the glorious uncertainties of the game, focus on their job ahead and if they play true to ability, then the cup can be theirs.

If they can get their act together, and bat, bowl and field the brilliant way they performed in the past, then they can give every team in their group a beating and figure in the final.

After the previous World Cup, apparently complacency seemed to have set in and surprisingly we were more on the losing side, than on the winning podium. But the hallmark of a great team, is to come back, or rise phoenix like and this the cricketers can do if they believe in themselves.

In this aspect Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva, the captain and vice captain have a big part to play. They must by examples get the best out of their team mates.

Arjuna and Aravinda have been known to get tough and perform when the going gets tough. And there is no better tournament, than the World Cup to once again perform their heroics.

While these two will strive to do their best and raise the game of their team mates, it is also the duty of the other members of the squad to put their shoulders to the wheel and come out with a team effort, which is so very vital in a team game and where Sri Lanka is fighting to retain the trophy, they so very richly deserved and won the last time.

It was Sri Lanka's excellent fielding that contributed chiefly for success where they beat all other teams and finally stuffed the kangaroos to surprise all and sundry and proudly carry away the biggest and most memorable prize in one day cricket.

On their way to success in Lahore, the Lankans put on show a style of cricket, that prompted others to follow, but with little success. That is that the openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharne blasted the first 15 overs, most of the time putting on a near century stand, which was gleefully grabbed by the batsmen following to build on and leave opposing sides difficult winning targets to chase.

There is no reason why Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharne cannot repeat. To do this all they have to do is concentrate, watch the ball and how it moves and launch into their audacious strokeplay and prove to the other teams that what they did last time out, they can do better this time too.

Jayasuriya in addition to seeing his side to a good start, also has pride to guard against. He was adjudged the 'Most valuable player' in the previous bash and he is sure to endeavour to maintain his stature and retain the title. He must cut out all the frills and settle down to business and dominate.

While Sri Lanka's batting can hold its own, and while the fielding we are told has improved, with former Aussie Trevor Chappel having worked hard on this very vital aspect, it is once again the bowling that will cause worry to skipper Ranatunga.

Good that the selectors plonked in medium pacer Eric Upashantha. Upashantha with his height, high arm action and the ability to move the ball both ways, should be a good back up to Chaminda Vaas and Pramodaya Wickremasinghe. He must be told to keep the ball well up to obtain movement in English conditions.

Ranatunga will also be hoping that his main strike bowler Chaminda Vaas will also strike his old match winning form. In recent time Vaas has not been among the wickets. This could be attributed to him trying to bend his back a bit too much and tending to stray. Instead of striving for pace if he looks for movement, then his bowling should be spot on.

But Ranatunga's biggest worry will be the form off ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. Muralitharan has had an operation on his shoulder and after this whether he will be the same match winning bowler will be interesting to watch.

One hopes that the fate that has befallen Australia's master leg spinner Shane Warne has not struck Muralitharan too. Warne too had a similar operation and his form was so poor where he had lost his spinning prowess that saw him from fame to shame being dropped from the Aussie Test team.

Muralitharan is a bowler who could even spin on ice. One hopes that he has not lost his form.

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