Australia– a land like no other

Rex Clementine in Geelong  

On the eve of a game at MCG, a young Sri Lankan team Manager was busy running around. A former Sri Lanka cricketer domiciled in Australia wanted to visit the nets and give some tips to the players, but the Manager had failed to get clearance and a pass for the ex-cricketer. He walked up to the steward at the gate at the practice nets and informed him that he wanted the ex-player in. The steward was firm. He said that he had identified the ex-cricketer but had to adhere to the law, which is you cannot enter the practice nets without a pass. When the Manger tried to push his weight around, the steward, maybe in his 60s, told him in no uncertain terms, ‘Mate, even if the Prime Minister of Australia turns up here and wants to go through, I’ll have to stop him if he hasn’t got a pass. In Australia, it doesn’t matter who you are. You need to respect the law.’

That incident left a lasting impression on us young reporters who were covering the series. You need to respect the law.  Talking of Prime Ministers, John Howard was the Australian PM for 11 years from 1996 to 2007 and he’s known as bit of a cricket buff. During the tsunami fundraiser in Sydney, the Sri Lankan players had visited the Australian dressing room and a message came along that the Prime Minister was on his way to greet the players. The Sri Lankan players were on their feet. As Howard entered the dressing room and was shaking hands with Chaminda Vaas, there was a loud noise, ‘Hey John, how are you mate? Come mate, have a beer.’ That was Matthew Hayden. He was in his underpants.

You may be the Prime Minister of Australia, but it’s a country where all citizens are equal. There’s no ‘Honourable’, ‘His Excellency’, or ‘Sir’ over here.  A few years later, when Howard was done with his premiership, he expressed his desire to become the President of the International Cricket Council. India used SLC as cat’s paw to kill the proposal. In the end, Howard had to pull out as Sri Lanka opposed his appointment vehemently, on flimsy grounds.

Some Prime Ministers have invited Sri Lankan teams to their residence in Canberra. Julia Gillard welcomed the Sri Lankan team in 2012. The team manager was introducing the players and upon reaching a certain player she asked, ‘How are you keeping.’ To which our man replied, ‘I’m not a wicketkeeper, I am a fast bowler.’

Australia is the home for many ex-Sri Lankan cricketers. The sporting visa system allows those who have represented the country to migrate to Australia and many are the players who have benefited from the system and most of them are based in Melbourne.  The Australian cricket board has also immensely helped other developing cricket nations including Sri Lanka.

After Sri Lanka’s bid for Test status had been turned down repeatedly, in 1981, Gamini Dissanayake decided to bring down the Australian cricket officials to Colombo before the ICC vote to give them a firsthand experience of the quality of cricket in the island. Generous host Killi Rajamahendran, Vice-President of the board, was entrusted to look after the visitors and by the end of the tour, the delegation had promised their support at the ICC meeting and had recommended some of the upgradings that the venues needed.

At the ICC meeting, Australia voted for Sri Lanka to be granted Test status after India and Pakistan proposed and seconded the motion. England abstained from voting. Once Australia were supporting, the Brits got cold feet to veto the motion.

The Australian board did not stop there. By providing constant opportunities for local coaches and curators to train in Australia, they helped lift the standard of cricket back in Sri Lanka. Australia played a three-match Test series against Sri Lanka ten years before England committed to multiple Tests. England had played in one-off Tests against Sri Lanka from 1982 to 2001.

The hiring of Dav Whatmore in 1995 proved to be a turning point in Sri Lankan cricket history. While the board was keen to hire then Victoria coach, they didn’t have the money. It was the Australian board that came to their aid by parting away with 100,000 US$ that were spent on hiring the World Cup-winning coach. Ironically, it was the Aussies that Sri Lanka beat in the 1996 World Cup finals.

From 1987 to 1992 when there was no cricket in the island, then Board President Ian Peiris and Secretary S. Skandakumar during the ICC meeting in June 1991 appealed to the member boards to visit Sri Lanka. Australia was the first team to tour a few months later and every other cricket team followed in the next 18 months.  Even the recent trip that was undertaken by the Australian team in the backdrop of the nation’s worst economic crisis and civil unrest was applauded by all and sundry.  Given the fact that Asia Cup was shifted when the situation had improved vastly, what the Aussies did during long hours of power cuts and uncertainty was truly remarkable.