Sri Lanka: Time for the broom or mere spring cleaning?

So it is over

Charlie Austin21-Mar-2003So it is over. Sri Lankan cricket runs on World Cup cycles and four years of
grooming, planning and polishing under coach Dav Whatmore and Sanath
Jayasuriya produced a place in the semi-finals. For a nation with heavy
expectations, judgment beckons: has the time come for sweeping changes or
will a little spring cleaning suffice?

The defeat by Australia summed up Sri Lanka’s campaign: superb bowling by
Chaminda Vaas, good support from the spinners, all wasted by another lousy
performance by the middle order. Sri Lanka produced one of their best
performances in the field in the competition, carving out a winning
opportunity, but ultimately didn’t have the depth of batting class necessary
to withstand the bristling Australians.

Sri Lankan hopes rested, almost entirely, upon the shoulders of five senior
players, men who had all been around during the 1996 finals: Sanath
Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva, Marvan Atapattu, Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah
Muralitharan. They dominated with bat and ball, scoring 64% of the runs and
taking 75% of the wickets during the tournament. For victory to be achieved
they had to fire again: they did with the ball but couldn’t with the bat.The disappointing truth is that four years of grooming youngsters has failed
to reap substantial dividends in the tournament that mattered most. So has
the time come to start afresh? Clearly some changes are necessary, only the
scale of the shake out is in doubt. The picture is muddied by the fact that
some of the players that disappointed – Russel Arnold and Mahela Jayawardene
in particular, who scored a paltry 113 runs in 15 innings between them – had
performed consistently in the pre-ceding years. That being the case, is it
wise to now cast them aside?

In Mahela Jayawardene’s case, there is clearly a need to keep faith with a
class player. You don’t throw batters onto the scrap heap after a poor six
months when they average close to fifty in Test cricket. But Jayawardene’s
slump is a concern. In 2001 he averaged 46.66 in one-day cricket, scoring
three centuries and seven fifties. Since then his productivity has declined
dramatically, with an average of 28.25 in 2002 and 14.54 in 2003 thus far.
Possibly, a rest is required. He has been struggling with long-term back
injury and his mind has also been busy with off-field matters, particularly
the team’s HOPE fund raising appeal for a new cancer hospital. A break might
allow him to re-charge his batteries and let his focus sharpen. Too many
months spent idling in hotel rooms is not good for anyone.

Russel Arnold’s position is more vulnerable. Already rumours are circling
Colombo that his time is up. His one-day average is still respectable at
36.32 but it is dipping fast. During the last 12 months he has averaged
28.96, and in the first three months of 2003 only 13.09. Despite offering
value with his under-rated off-spin and athletic fielding, Arnold’s place is
clearly in danger. However, he also deserves further up the order. All too
frequently he has been stranded with the tail, left to pick up the pieces
after the middle order has collapsed.Kumar Sangakkara’s place in the side should be guaranteed despite a
relatively lean tournament (176 runs at 25.14). His wicket-keeping was often
ragged and occasionally awful, meaning the selectors may well now opt for a
specialist pair of gloves, but his batting continues an upward curve with an
average of 31.6 during the past 12 months. With Hashan Tillakaratne being
too old to last till the next World Cup, and de Silva having retired,
Sangakkara deserves an extended chance in the number position, a spot where
he has thus far thrived in Test cricket.

This all leaves the selectors needing to fill two spots in the top seven,
possibly three if Jayawardene is to rest. With no obvious alternative
currently available, Romesh Kaluwitharana can expect to be recalled. Michael
Vandort, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chamara Silva are all names that will be
considered. Avishka Gunawardene and Jehan Mubarak may also have a chance.
The names of all-rounders Thilan Samaraweera and Kaushal Loukuarachchi, both
of who had successful series against the ECB Academy, deserve to be thrown
into the hat. And if you were really brave you blood Jeevan Mendis, a young
left-hander with prodigious talent. Unfortunately, the truth is that there
is no outstanding candidate that leaps out and demands selection.In the bowling department, the selectors cannot make wholesale changes. Vaas
and Muralitharan, injury and enthusiasm permitting, can remain the pillars
of the attack until the next World Cup and beyond. Clearly Dilhara Fernando
and Prabath Nissanka have immense promise and only by playing can they
develop. However, a full-time bowling coach, preferably Rumesh Ratnayake, if
he can be teased away from his full-time job with the Asian Cricket Council,
is required.

And, finally, there is the issue of captaincy. Jayasuriya’s consensual
approach had advantages in the post-Ranatunga years but increasingly his
leadership has lacked control and direction on the field. He is unlikely to
be sacked, boasting as he does strong support in the Sports Ministry, but
there is a growing feeling that he will consider stepping down anyhow and
handing over to his vice-captain. Atapattu, a private and somewhat aloof
cricketer, has already displayed his on-field leadership credentials during
Sri Lanka’s last Test at Centurion, calmly and astutely leading Sri Lanka to
the verge of a famous victory. However, he will need a strong communicator
as his henchman, someone to glue the team together and ensure bonhomie
within the ranks: Chaminda Vaas stands out as the ideal candidate.

So, in the end, we have reached for the duster rather than the broom. The
retirement of De Silva – who has turned down a plea from the interim
committee to keep going for another six months – and the likely employment
of Tillakartne as a Test specialist again, provides an opportunity for two
fresh (or indeed old) faces. Another might be tried if Arnold or Jayawardene
are rested or dropped but more wholesale changes should not be expected nor
demanded. All is not well with the Sri Lanka team but all is not wrong
either.