Wijesuriya looks to improve school cricket standards

Sri Lanka's newly appointed under-19 coach Roger Wijesuriya has said that lack of discipline in batting and bowling had contributed to the downfall in school cricket standards.

"I don't see anything radically wrong with school cricket in this country, it is just that a few minor things have to be put right for it to raise its head once again," said Wijesuriya, who will take over his new assignment from the beginning of next month. "Batsmen don't bat two to three sessions and get a century, and bowlers don't bowl 20-30 overs to get wickets. This shows they lack the staying power and discipline to work hard for success."

One reason Wijesuriya attributed to the fall in school cricket standards is that schoolboys today don't value representing their alma mater as much as those who did during his time. "The boys should be proud to know that when they represent their school they are going to one day become the future players of Sri Lanka. That principle is sadly lacking."

Another grey area which Wijesuriya has identified for the drop in schools standards is that the physical fitness of schoolboys is 'not that great' compared to those a decade or so ago. "The boys have to be told to do everything. There is a lack of professionalism in their outlook."

From the coach's angle Wijesuriya observed that there is a lack of continuity in the process of selection. "There is no criterion for selection of teams at junior level. The teams for the provincial under-17 tournament have already been picked even before the schools under-17 tournament is over. We are not doing proper justice to the boys.

"I intend working closely with all the coaches including district and provincial. The whole selection process should be streamlined so that we pick the best cricketers and don't overlook anyone. It is the under-17 players who will be representing Sri Lanka at the next under-19 World Cup in two years."

Another aspect of coaching which Wijesuriya despised is coaches trying to take credit for producing cricketers. "During a career a cricketer goes through the hands of many coaches. So how can one coach take credit for his success?"

Wijesuriya also lamented at the lack of international competition for the junior national cricketers and said: "If we are to improve in any way we need more tours home and away. There should be at least two-three tours annually for the under-17 and under-19 cricketers." He pointed out that school standards had fallen in quality because there are more teams playing. "During our time we had just one team in the under 11, 13, 14 and 16 age groups. But today there are about three-four teams in each age group."

Wijesuriya, 46, was an outstanding product of St. Sebastian's College, Moratuwa, and it was no surprise that he was picked to represent his country in the 1979 World Cup in England while still a schoolboy. He had excelled as a left-arm spinner taking 25 wickets in an under-19 series against Pakistan and was one of three schoolboys selected for the competition. The other two were Ranjan Madugalle, the present ICC chief referee, and Sudath Pasqual, who is currently manager tournament and international umpiring of Sri Lanka Cricket.

Wijesuriya had a very short Test career, appearing in only four Tests and eight one-day internationals between 1982 and 1985. In those four Tests he captured just one wicket for 294 runs and he had a dismal strike rate of 586 balls, or 97 overs, per wicket. However, in a first-class cricket career spanning 15 years from 1978-79 he had a much better record, taking 107 wickets (avg. 25.77) from 42 matches at a healthy strike rate of 66 balls per wicket.

Wijesuriya excelled as a school's cricket coach. In his 14 years' experience, he guided St Benedict's, St Peter's (twice) and Royal to six schools championships, a record that made him a clear favourite for the under-19 coach's job. He also coached CCC to honours in 1995-96 when they won the division I title, and served as a national selector for three years.