Last nail on Sri Lanka cricket’s coffin?

All what the Sri Lankan cricket team achieved since 1996 has been ruined by the dismal performance of our cricketers in just one year. This year has been a disastrous one for Sri Lanka cricket. Even in the first World Cup tournament our team did so well before getting Test status. But now it is in shambles.

We have never fared so badly in International tournaments as happened this year. First, we scraped through to get to the finals of the Asia Cup. Then India thrashed us very badly with the batsmen being able to get only 51, the lowest score in the Asia Cup. Sad indeed for a team that had won the Asia Cup more than once!

Then came the World Cup, where the team was able to build up a score and then could not bundle out the opponents cheaply. This happened in the case of the matches with Australia as well as Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

First, the Selection Committee has blundered in the selection of the team for the World Cup. Fortunately, Angelo Mathews was added as an afterthought. But Chandimal too should have been selected.

Dasun Shanaka should never have been selected as the captain for the World Cup after his dismal performance at the Asia Cup. Kusal Janith Perera has lost his touch and should never be selected again. In his place it would have been better if Avishka Fernando was selected, even though he may have been slightly overweight (not as much as Banuka Rajapakse when he was selected). One would remember Colin Milburn, who added to his weight, he could see only with one eye. One wonders why Dimuth Karunaratne was selected to be seated on the bench. Instead of him it should have been Vishva Fernando.

Most of the fans of Sri Lanka cricket, both at home and abroad, are happy in a way that the team is out of the Champions’ Trophy tournament as they know very well that this team with what they have shown in the two International tournaments this year would definitely get thrashed by all teams as they would be no match for any of the other teams.

The selection committee seems to be out of touch with the young cricketers participating in tournaments now. So far since their appointment they have not got anything right. They should resign, and if they do not the Minister should remove them.

Sri Lanka Cricket(SLC) should utilize all monies received to improve the standard of cricket from school level upwards, instead of concentrating on their favourite clubs. There must be persons who have played cricket at national and international level and who understand the game, at the helm of SLC so that they will know how to run the SLC to improve the standard of cricket instead of persons who run gambling dens. With the exception of the present Minister of Sports, SLC has been able to put all previous Ministers of Sports in their pocket so that some of them who came to clean the Augean stables of corruption had to drop the idea after some time. We should congratulate the present Minister of Sports for having taken the initiative to remove the corrupt Board at the SLC even with all odds against him from top to bottom.

The monies received by SLC should not be spent to pay thumping salaries to the staff and to go on big jaunts with their henchmen and women who have nothing to do with cricket the way exorbitant sums were spent on such jaunts to Australia during the last World Cup tournament.

The SLC Board has been timed out for ruining cricket for too long! What happened to Angelo Mathews is a different story.

As a postscript let me say it was heartening to see that Parliament supported the resolution to remove the Sri Lanka Cricket board in unison without a division. If only this unity could be extended to solve the burning problems of the people too, it would be excellent.

HM NISSANKA WARAKAULLE