Top Spin By Suni

It seems easy for Sri Lanka coach Grahqm Ford toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ be retrospectively analyticalƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ about theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ disastrous Test Series against AustraliaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and indeed there wereƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  positives to take from a 3-0 drubbing in Australia, butƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the undoingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ apart fromƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ inconsistency has to do with bad decisions by the hierarchy relative to selection and lack of drive and motivation by the senior players includingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Skipper Mahela Jayawardena. Apart from a few individual flashes in the pan by the LankansƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ which were not sufficient towards toppling the Aussies who were indomitable in their own backyard and toyed around with the Lankans at will it, was a fiasco that hopefully will never be repeated.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Much needs to be said about the ignominious releasing of theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ previous coach and perhaps its poetic justice that the man who guided the team through a courageous series against South Africa yetƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ given his marching orders must surely be chuckling to himself at what a sorry lot the present Lankan team turned out to be and Mr.Ford should be asking himself what he has contributed towards the Lankans being a forceful team albeit the lacklustre nature which prevailed apart from lip service which seems to be a common link between him and some of his subordinates in the playing arena also ! A far cry from Dav Whatmore and Tom Moody where the latter despite a renewed interest in taking the reins again yet ovewrlooked for the likes of Ford who in all probabilities need to be sent packing with all due respect!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ True enough there were inconsistencies in some of the wickets and there were injuries to key players where there appeared to be a co-relation between the two anomalies but the bottom line appears to be the ommission of certain key players who justƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  might have made a difference and the absence of the grit and perseverance the Lankans are known for and some of the sidelined players cerainly possessed these qualities where the Lankan selection committee, the captain and the Cricket Board per se must surely rue the day these players were left out particulaly when their track record pointed to how deserving they were for selection and the eventual price paid perhaps for being unable to prove their net worth. The excuse for all this was said to be their unpreparedness for the Test Arena which seems like a bitƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ of tosh all things considered !

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ All the fielding lapses,( some were shockers!)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the inability to play genuine pace or even use the DRS system judiciously were telling factors towards Sri Lanka’s inconsistencies where Rangana Herath alone appeared to be the only consistent player on whom the team could depend on in the wicket taking departmentƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ where he too has had to face many indecisions in the past as well as in the present although he seems to have come of age as a reasonable replacement to Muralitharan.( big shoes to full of course!)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There are others who are meritworthy towards selection where there are some who now appear ready for the pasture and others like Dimuth Karunaratna and Nuwan Pradeep to name a few who need greater exposure which will boost Sri Lanka in the very near future.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Now that the Test Series is over there is a lot of talk about the powerhouse Sri Lanka appears to be in the limited overs game based on the inclusion of the likes of Malinga, the Mendises, Dhanunjaya and PereraƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and whileƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the realities surrounding this might be speculative knowing how tough the Aussies are to beat on home turf there is also the possibility that Sri Lanka just might strike back to avenge the humiliating Test losses which would be a welcome change but for heaven’s sake ! Coach, Skipper and Management and the top guns of Sri Lanka Cricket just pause awhile and ponder upopn what really caused the disarray and at times confusion in the Sri Lankan camp and whether or not it was your own inadequacies to motivateƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and put together a winning combination that appeared to be the biggest shortcoming of all!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If anything positive is to be taken from the losses it has to be the performance of the youngblood infused into the team thanks mostly to the efforts of Snga and Mahela and food for thought for the future where even the inclusion of Chandimal was relative to injuries of a key players where he should have been an automatic choice in the first place.Case in point towards the argument that there have been negative decisions made by those namedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ which in all probabilities might have changed theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  outcome of the series so lets not hold our breath that the Aussies could be thrashed but simply wait for it to happen!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ One final note~ Skipper in waiting Angelo Mathews seems quite chipper and enthusiastic about the fortunes of the Lankan ODI Squad( despite it favouring the brave)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and already seems to be measuring the extent of the anticipated successesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  with a lot of bravado although he is better off maintaing a stiff upperlip and letting the performances of the players ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ do the talking where it seems a long time coming in this department for him also to be able to show some fighting spirit!

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