Sports
Let’s make most of local coaches
Rex Clementine at Pallekele
Sri Lankan cricket has been ahead of times compared to some of our Asian neighbours over the years. In our formative years, Gamini Dissanayake was convinced that the team needed a foreign coach and quite a few of them were hired including Sir Garry Sobers to help the team in early days. At a time when the board was penniless, Mr. Dissanayake had businessmen around him like Killy Rajamahendran to fund these foreign coaches.
For about a decade then, several former local players managed the affairs of the team. Then in 1994 when visionary board chairman Ana Punchihewa took over, he felt the need to have a foreign coach again. He wanted to bring in Dav Whatmore, but he was going to cost the board US$ 100,000 annually. SLC at that point had a grand bank balance of Rs. 400,000.
It is not known to many that Mr. Punchihewa’s visionary project was funded by the Australian Cricket Board. Sri Lanka were going to tour Australia in 1995 and were getting a guarantee fee of US$ 100,000. The Aussies doubled the guarantee fee and as a result the board could afford Whatmore. It is well-documented how he changed the fortunes of the team.
In recent years, we have had a few local Head Coaches. Roy Dias was at the helm when Sri Lanka won a Test match in England for the first time in 1998 and Marvan Atapattu was in charge when Sri Lanka recorded a first ever series win in England in 2014.
Between those periods we have had some excellent foreign coaches. There was Tom Moody, a brilliant man manager and Trevor Bayliss, who brought the best of several star players. Both of them took the team to the World Cup finals and stepped down.
Under incumbent Chris Silverwood, the results maybe not very much in favour of him, but what he has done is to develop an excellent set of fast bowlers. Fast bowling is one area that has shown tremendous improvement in recent years credit to the former Yorkshire quick.
India were very late to obtain the services of a foreign coach. New Zealander John Wright was their first foreign coach in 2001 and since then they have had the likes of Greg Chappell, Duncan Fletcher and Gary Kirsten.
But currently, India’s almost entire coaching staff is local. The only foreigner in their ranks is our own Nuwan Seneviratne, a throw down specialist.
Can Sri Lanka be self-sufficient too moving forward? Some of the foreign coaching staff that we have hired in recent years have been well below par.
There was a hue and cry when they brought down a fielding coach two years ago claiming he is one of the best. But it turned out to be we were taken for a ride. The national cricket team’s fielding was horrendous in the recently concluded World Cup where they spilled as many as 16 catches. The drop catches cost them dearly and the team finished ninth in the tournament and were knocked out of the Champions Trophy.
A lot of people tend to agree that we may need a foreigner as Head Coach. Nobody is denying it. Maybe you can get a qualified physiotherapist as well from overseas, but rest, surely, the locals can manage. Since the arrival of Upul Chandana as Fielding Coach, the players are showing more energy on the field and his creative drills are a treat to watch indeed.
Recently, we recruited a spin bowling coach by the name of Craig Howard. You tend to think that in a country that has produced some quality spin bowlers, surely we should be able to hire someone locally. Rangana Herath is into coaching and you wonder whether he is available to do a stint. Apart from his expertise on spin bowling, the cool-headed Herath will be ideal to the dressing room atmosphere.
This is not an effort to run down Howard. Maybe he’ll be able to help our spinners. It remains to be seen. But the fact is we have made some poor choices with our foreign coaches in recent years. The fielding coach is a case in point.
SLC needs to be commended for they have hardly interfered with recommendations of our former captain who has been calling the shots on cricket-related matters for close to three years now. But all his choices haven’t been top-notch. There have been some very ordinary ones. Let’s make the most of local coaches. And save some dollars.
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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