Whatmore's bold Sri Lanka plan (12 August 1999)
Colombo (Sri Lanka) - Say what you want about Dav Whatmore, he is quite a Sri Lankan at heart and prepared to throw down the gauntlet to war horses Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva to get the best out of them as Test players than ruin his
12-Aug-1999
12 August 1999
Whatmore's bold Sri Lanka plan
Trevor Chesterfield
Colombo (Sri Lanka) - Say what you want about Dav Whatmore, he is
quite a Sri Lankan at heart and prepared to throw down the gauntlet to
war horses Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva to get the best out
of them as Test players than ruin his well-laid limited-overs
strategy.
For some it may rankle that Sri Lanka, the former World Cup champions,
are to play the new title-holders in a special triangular series of
limited-overs international matches also involving India on the island
later this month. Whatmore is far from irked by the image: Australia,
he let it be known, were better, tougher and more competitive.
Barely 10 days into his second stint as Sri Lanka's coach, his views
of the team's disastrous 1999 World Cup campaign in England are
straightforward: the side had become bloated with over-confidence and
it showed in their performances.
"They played like lightweights and it showed in the results,"
Yet it is long-term planning which counts to the former Australian
Test player who admits that although the Test series against South
Africa is 12 months off, building a side for that tour is one of
several reasons to split the side at this stage of the rebuilding
process.
If the top countries such as Australia and the West Indies are
prepared to indulge in separate Test and limited-overs sides so should
Sri Lanka. This is the view of the guru who almost three years ago
walked out on the job which turned him into an international hero and
national icon in the island of his birth.
"We have a World Cup (in South Africa) four years away and we need to
work towards that goal," he said at the team's light training session
at the Nondescripts Club yesterday. "Before that though, we have a lot
of Test tours and limited-overs series here and abroad.
"Winning back the World Cup is one thing, finding the right side to do
it is another matter. This month we play two top nations (in the Aiwa
Trophy) and it is going to be far from easy.
"When that's out of the way we can start of concentrate on our Test
side and it is here we need the experience of veteran's Ranatunga and
Da Silva," he said, brushing aside remarks from local media members
about his rate of success.
He began his first tenure in early 1995 and within a year had built a
World Cup winning side. This time it is not going to be as
easy. Confidence needs rebuilding and finding a place for a former
captain and vice-captain, Ranatunga and De Silva.
So, where does South Africa fit into Whatmore's planning? A test
series next August-September is part of the scheme and a limited-overs
series. Three Tests followed by another triangular series is likely
the best deal on offer. By then Ranatunga and De Silva should have
retired and the youngsters for whom Whatmore has such a high regard
should start emerging.
"Next to Australia the country to beat is South Africa and we have
managed it a few times in the limited-overs series. Perhaps a Test win
is not too far away," he added hopefully.
Source :: Trevor Chesterfield, Pretoria News